Weiß kreuz: Katzen
by Cristi1
Summary: When Weiß receives a mission to stop a mysterious drug cartel, they get more than they bargained for: An adventure they'll never forget.
1. Mission 1: Tokyo Sling

Disclaimer/Author Babble: Koyasu Takehito owns Weiß, not me. He's so sexy, when he thinks about him he touches himself.  
  
With that said, I would just like to give this story a quick "set up."  
  
The idea for this story started over 4 years ago. Back in the spring of 1999, and my senior year of high school. Very few people had even heard of Weiß kreuz back then, because it wouldn't yet be released in the U.S. for another 2 and a half years, but my best friends and I were lucky enough to have a friend with the Japanese laser discs of the series, and way too much time on our hands ^_^ We became huge fans of the show, the band, the seiyuu.everything. And we still are. So, anyway, that spring, an idea was formed as we sat on the hood of my 1989 Lincoln Mark VII. We would write a story that was as true to the characters' personalities as we could manage, and we would try to make it seem as though it could have been an OAV of its own. We wanted to write a deep story with a solid plot, true to the show, and maybe even come up with some new characters that had deep personalities of their own. Characters that a reader couldn't help but like. Adrienne and I would do the actual writing, and Katie would draw fanart/scenes from our story. We each had a job to do, and so, 4 years later, it is done.  
  
So without further ado.  
  
KATZEN By: Cristi & Adrienne, with input and love from Katie.  
  
CHAPTER ONE: Tokyo Sling  
  
A single figure stood atop the roof of the Tokyo International Convention Center. The figure pulled goggles down over his eyes and leaned up against the wall.  
  
Ken Hidaka sighed.  
  
He hated having to miss out on some of the missions because he was the "look out."  
  
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by some action coming his way.  
  
Omi Tsukiyono came bursting through the door leading to the top floor of the building. Three women about Ken's age were on Omi's tail, and wielding automatic weapons.  
  
Ken quickly jumped into action and gutted the first of the three girls with his weapon, a bugnuk on his right hand. This gave Omi enough time to pause and load his crossbow, taking out the other two girls.  
  
Ken and Omi nodded at one another, and Ken asked, "Where are Aya and Youji?"  
  
Omi shrugged.  
  
* * *  
  
Aya Fujimiya clutched his side, trying to stop the bleeding.  
  
It wasn't at all like him to get taken by surprise like that. Especially by a bunch of little girls. Aya frowned and thought of plenty of colorful metaphors for this particular drug cartel.  
  
Youji Kudou stooped down to allow Aya to lean on him. It's a good thing he had come along, or Aya would have a real tough time getting to their meeting place on the roof of the center. Fire escapes led down to an alleyway where they left their small car, and the plan was to get out as soon as the head of the cartel was taken out.  
  
Unfortunately, that hadn't been accomplished, and now Weiss could hear police sirens in the distance.  
  
"Time to go!" Youji said to Aya. Aya tried to protest, but the pain in his side made him think better of it.  
  
Finally arriving at the roof, Ken helped get Aya down the fire escape without saying a word, and then took the wheel as they drove off into the night.  
  
Mission not accomplished.  
  
* * *  
  
The bells on the pet shop door rang loudly, causing Yuko Yaguchi to look up from her place behind the counter. A curly strand of dark brown hair fell into her face and she brushed it away, absentmindedly. The customer who had just entered headed over to the kitten cage and looked in.  
  
Yuko eyed the boy, warily. He looked to be no more than 19, with shaggy brown hair and wearing an apron. She shrugged and waited for Maki to come help him. Cats were her section, but Maki was a bum.  
  
Another minute passed and Yuko was just about to go over and help the customer when Maki came flying out from the back room at top speed, her blonde pigtails flying out behind her. In seconds, she was standing beside their new customer.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said to him, "can I help you with anything? Would you like to hold a kitten?" She batted her eyes and the boy smiled at her.  
  
"No thanks," he said, "I would just get too attached and have to take it home. My roommates would have a fit. I was just looking for something for a friend who is in the hospital. I stopped in here since we're neighbors and I've never dropped by before."  
  
Maki grinned at him and said, "Why don't you just give her flowers?"  
  
"Him," the boy corrected. "And because flowers are a bit redundant for us. We work in a flower shop."  
  
Maki's smile brightened as she said, "Working in a flower shop must be nice! Better than cleaning up dog poop!" She leaned towards him and softly said, "I'm Maki Konno. And you are?"  
  
From the counter, Yuko smothered a laugh. Maki was always so obvious.  
  
The boy looked a little taken aback but answered, "Ken Hidaka. I work at the flower shop across the street."  
  
"Wow!" said Makoto, coming in from the back. She had just finished changing some birdcages and had little bits of newspaper in her shoulder- length light brown hair. "You guys sure do have a fan club over there! I think every girl in Tokyo must buy their flowers from you!"  
  
Ken blushed a bit and nodded. Turning back to Maki, he said, "can I see the kitten with the white fur, please?"  
  
Taking the cat out for him, Maki said, "I thought you weren't allowed to have cats?"  
  
"Yeah," said Ken, "Aya won't let me."  
  
"Aya?" Maki said with disappointment apparent in her voice. "Is she your girlfriend?"  
  
Ken looked flustered, "no, he's my friend in the hospital."  
  
Just then the door opened, admitting a tall and lanky boy with longer hair, and shorter boy with huge blue eyes. Both were wearing aprons.  
  
The taller boy lowered his sunglasses a bit and peered over them, gazing around at all the girls. Leela Mullen, the tallest of the girls, had just stepped out from the back room and was putting her long red hair up into a ponytail. She surveyed what was causing all the commotion. Boys, of course.  
  
"Hi!" Yuko greeted cheerfully. "I'm Yuko Yaguchi, and the one over there scaring your friend is Maki Konno."  
  
"I'm not scaring anyone!" cried Maki, defensively.  
  
"I'm Leela," said the girl with long red hair. She gave them a slight bow and then said, "and if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She disappeared into the back again, chuckling slightly.  
  
"Makoto!" said Makoto, saluting. Youji smiled and saluted right back.  
  
"I'm Youji," he said, gazing sexily at Makoto. She blushed faintly.  
  
"Omi!" said Omi, practically jumping into the air.  
  
"Do you guys work at the flower shop, too?" asked Yuko.  
  
Youji and Omi nodded as Ken handed the kitten back to Maki.  
  
"Shouldn't we go now?" Youji addressed his friends. "We're visiting Aya, right?"  
  
"Yeah, we should go," said Omi.  
  
"I haven't gotten him anything yet!" protested Ken.  
  
"Would he like a chew toy?" asked Yuko, holding up a rubber steak.  
  
"Or a new leash?" volunteered Makoto. Youji winked at her and remarked, "kinky."  
  
"How about kibble?" asked Maki.  
  
"Or bits?" came Leela's voice from the back.  
  
Omi laughed. "Thank you for the offer, but we should probably just be going."  
  
"Aya doesn't like presents anyway," said Youji.  
  
"Thanks again!" Ken called as he left, followed by Omi and Youji.  
  
"Nice to meet you!" Maki yelled after them. "Come by again!"  
  
Turning around, she faced her friends and said, "Weren't they all so handsome? No wonder girls are always hanging out around their store!"  
  
Leela came back out into the main store and said, "Yes, they were. But let's not lose focus. We have more important things to think about right now."  
  
Yuko and Makoto nodded somberly, realizing that tonight would be the night that would decide the rest of their lives. Their first self-imposed mission.  
  
* * *  
  
Ken, Omi, and Youji entered Aya's hospital room. Manx was there as well, with her arms crossed. The three exchanged a look. This couldn't be good.  
  
Aya looked pained as usual. "You three have to finish the job."  
  
"We didn't before?" asked Ken. Youji swore.  
  
Manx shook her head. "Turns out that your mission last night was only a small conglomerate of a much larger organized crime gang. We are still trying to find out the identity of the main boss, but for now you boys still have to take out the smaller gang. Regardless of the condition Abyssian is in right now."  
  
Aya tried to sit up but grimaced and flopped back down. "I hate this!"  
  
"The problem is." Manx paused, "they may be expecting you this time. So being discreet is the key to a successful mission."  
  
At that moment, a nurse walked in. Manx cleared her throat and added, "And be sure to pick Aya up a card next time. That was very inconsiderate of you."  
  
Youji threw an arm around Manx and said, "Yeah, men are so stupid." Omi nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"Can you three handle this?" Aya asked once the nurse left. The other members of Weiss nodded.  
  
After all, they had no choice.  
  
* * *  
  
"It's up to you," Leela said to Yuko. She pointed at a map they had drawn of the Tokyo International Convention Center. "When you enter through the west wing, you're going to be faced with the largest number of guards."  
  
"Do we even know what the boss looks like?" asked Makoto. "I mean, besides probably being a young woman, like the rest of them."  
  
Maki shook her head. Yuko grumbled.  
  
"Now, Maki, you're going to have to place your button bombs somewhere in the ventilation system of the east wing." Maki nodded.  
  
"And Mako-chan," Leela said, turning to the fourth member of Katzen, "you'll be the look out that we keep radio contact with, and your job is to hack into their main computer. Screw 'em up real nice, OK?" Makoto cracked her knuckles in anticipation.  
  
"What will you be doing?" Maki asked Leela. Leela gave her a small smile and said, "Well, I guess I'll meet Yuko in the middle and help her take down the boss. I'll come in from the basement and work my way up, taking out as many gang members as I can."  
  
Everyone agreed that this plan was as good as any.  
  
* * *  
  
Weiss was in position.  
  
"Bombay to Siberian," Ken heard Omi's voice through his earpiece. "I'm in position." Ken nodded and spoke into his own microphone, "Siberian to Balinese, are you ready?"  
  
Youji's voice came back to him, "yeah, let's do this."  
  
Ken looked down from his post in the ventilation system over the main ballroom. He knew that Omi was in the west wing and Youji was in the basement. The cartel's boss didn't stand a chance.  
  
Then Ken heard a click behind his ear.  
  
"Don't move," said a firm female voice. Ken froze. He knew the cold metal feeling on the tip of his ear couldn't be anything but a pistol.  
  
"Who are you?" asked the woman. Ken whispered, "Siberian."  
  
The gun was shoved into his head.hard. "Not code names," came the voice again. "Real names."  
  
"Siberian is all I am," said Ken, gritting his teeth.  
  
"Who are you with?" asked the woman.  
  
"Weiss," Ken answered. He felt that this woman wasn't with the cartel, and he felt some strange desire to tell her the truth. Before he could contemplate that any further, he felt the gun being lowered.  
  
"We've heard of you," said the woman.  
  
Slowly and carefully, Ken turned to face her. All he saw in the miniscule light that was filtering in was blonde hair up in pigtails, and big goggles covering the woman's face. He squinted, trying to make out more of her features, but couldn't.  
  
"Who are you with?" he asked her.  
  
"We're called Katzen," she told him. "And before you even ask, we don't work for anyone but ourselves."  
  
It only took Ken a second to size up the situation. There were more than just this one girl, they were on some kind of mission, and they were rookies who were going to get hurt.  
  
In the blink of an eye, Ken had grabbed the woman's wrists, making her drop the gun. She opened her mouth, but he placed a gloved hand over it. She struggled against him, and a button bomb flew from her pocket and went sliding down the vent.  
  
Maki was furious. She struggled harder and tried to warn the man from Weiss about the bomb.  
  
Too late. In their struggle, his hand brushed the detonator in her pocket.  
  
Willing every bit of strength she had, Maki pushed him away and screamed, "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"  
  
The urgency in her voice left no room for argument.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey!" Omi hissed into his microphone. "Siberian! Report!" Omi had heard a woman's voice and screaming coming over Ken's line, and prayed that the other assassin hadn't been discovered.  
  
"Bombay to Balinese," Omi said urgently. "There's a problem. I think Siberian has been discovered!"  
  
On the other end of the line, Youji muttered a few colorful metaphors about Ken.  
  
Before they could decide on a back-up plan, the roof above the ballroom exploded.  
  
* * *  
  
"Dammit!" yelled Yuko after the explosion shook the building. Some debris fell around her, and she dived for cover.  
  
From across the room, Youji had just emerged from the basement and saw a lone figure take cover in the darkness. He headed towards the shadowy figure.  
  
Approaching cautiously, Youji saw the back of a girl's head poking out from some rubble. It was dark brown and curly, and Youji noted that it probably wasn't someone from the cartel. Just as he was close enough to reach out to the girl, her foot shot up and connected with the side of his face.  
  
Youji stumbled, and the figure stood up and kneed him in the stomach before running away. He doubled over in pain and cursed. When he looked up again, the girl was long gone.  
  
Soon enough, Omi was by his side. "Youji-kun, what happened?!"  
  
Youji shrugged. "Some girls. There's a group of them working this place, like us. One of them kicked me!  
  
* * *  
  
Leela and Makoto had run into each other shortly after the explosion.  
  
"What should we do?" gasped Makoto, slightly out of breath. The eldest member of Katzen though for a moment and said, "we'll trust Maki and Yuko to make it home themselves. You and I will use the explosion as a distraction to finish the job."  
  
Makoto nodded, and they headed for where the cartels leaders had taken refuge.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, in Aya's hospital room, Manx greeted Ken, Omi, and Youji with, "Good job last night. Too bad it wasn't you guys that did it."  
  
"What?!" yelled Ken. "I was almost exploded on that mission!" Omi refrained from correcting Ken's grammar. It did no good when he got excited.  
  
Manx crossed her arms. "I said it was taken care of. The leaders of that particular cartel were killed. But you boys didn't do it."  
  
"Katzen." Ken muttered under his breath. Everyone looked at him askance and he elaborated. "There were these girls there last night."  
  
"One of them kicked me in the face!" added Youji, unhelpfully.  
  
Ken continued, "I met up with one of them in the vents. Their plans must have been a lot like ours, though I can't even imagine their motive. She said their group was called Katzen and they worked for no one."  
  
"So," said Manx, "my guess would be freelance assassins."  
  
"I wonder what side they're on?" wondered Aya, always paranoid. "Assassins for hire can't be trusted. They'll do anything to anyone if they get paid."  
  
"So will you," said Youji. He was then offered an Aya Death Glare.  
  
"I don't think they're bad," Ken said, silencing everyone. "The girl in the vent seemed almost.nice."  
  
Youji winked at Ken. "Nice, huh? Was she nice to look at.?"  
  
"YOUJI-KUN!" scolded Omi.  
  
"Boys!" Manx yelled, making a 'time out' sign with her hands. "My point is that the mission was accomplished, but now I have a new mission for you. Find out about these girls!"  
  
It was all Omi could do to keep from saluting. Aya winced and said, "Could we wait until I feel a little better?"  
  
Everyone agreed.  
  
* * * 


	2. Mission 2: No Reason

CHAPTER TWO: No Reason  
  
"Don't you have any more information, Manx?" asked Aya.  
  
"No," she replied. "We went to get the surveillance tapes after the fact but they had either been taken or destroyed by those girls. No one was picked up by the police regarding the incident. Everyone who would have seen them is dead. Except for you."  
  
"Then, how in the hell are we going to find those girls?" wondered Youji.  
  
"Well," Omi said. "What exactly do we know about them? How many could there be? I know you and Ken each had a run-in with one. Did they say anything?"  
  
"She said they were called Katzen. She said they knew who we are," Ken said, thinking hard.  
  
Youji grumbled, "I didn't see the girl who hit me. All I saw was a body in a pile of rubble. Then it kicked me!"  
  
"Could it have been just those two, then?" asked Omi.  
  
"I don't know," said Ken. "If one was with me in the vent and another was down in the ballroom with Youji, then who killed the targets? They were nowhere near there."  
  
"True. There would have to be at least three. One in the vents, one in the ballroom, one who went after the targets and I'd guess they have a look- out as well," Omi said.  
  
"Yeah, I agree. It was obvious they were inexperienced but they didn't seem stupid," Ken said.  
  
"Sounds a little like a Weiss copy-cat group," Manx declared. "They said they know who you are. Maybe you have influenced them as well. We'll do some research of our own and get back to you with any new information. Meanwhile, you guys do some research of your own and try to remember anything about them. Anything at all. I'll contact you again shortly."  
  
With that, Manx left, leaving the Weiss boys wondering exactly what their next move would be.  
  
* * *  
  
The same morning before the store opened, Maki, Yuko, Makoto and Leela were pondering their next move as well. Makoto had called a meeting for early that morning. Now they were seated in their small living room in their apartment above the pet store, wondering just what they were going to do. They knew Weiss would be looking for them. They also knew they should probably looking for Weiss. The question was where to start.  
  
"Um...," started Yuko. "He was tall. I had to kick really high to hit him in the face. But I got out of there before I could get a good look."  
  
"Did he see you?" asked Leela.  
  
"I don't think so," Yuko responded. "I think I caught him off guard."  
  
"I could barely see the guy in the vent. He had goggles on, too. I couldn't see his face. There were at least two other guys there. I heard them on the headset," said Maki, nervously.  
  
"That means we've come in contact with two of them and that leaves one unaccounted for," stated Makoto. "Although, all the information I've ever heard has said Weiss is a foursome. Where's the other guy?"  
  
"Incapacitated. Or else he just didn't go, I guess," said Leela.  
  
"Incapacitated? Like he was injured or something?" asked Maki.  
  
Makoto agreed. "That's a possibility. But who knows? Did vent-boy say anything else to you, Maki?"  
  
"Not really," Maki replied slowly. "He just asked me who were are."  
  
"What'd you tell him?" asked Yuko.  
  
"Katzen and that we didn't work for anyone but ourselves. That's it," she answered. "I didn't know how much I should say."  
  
"Good call," replied Leela. "I think."  
  
"Probably," agreed Makoto. "We have to keep our eyes open though. Any detail about what happened last night might lead them to us. They have better means to do research on us than we do. But I'll check online for any information. And, Maki, Yuko, if you remember anything about last night, you have to tell the rest of us right away. We can't be too cautious."  
  
* * *  
  
Omi walked into the sitting room where Ken was watching TV and Youji was sprawled over a chair, sleeping. Omi sighed heavily, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."  
  
"Dammit," Ken swore.  
  
Youji opened his eyes, groggily, "Are you sure?" he asked.  
  
"I've looked up Katzen. We don't know their names and we don't have their descriptions. There's nothing about Katzen anywhere. I can't think of anything else to look for!" cried Omi, frustrated. "There aren't even any reports of a four-girl gang or anything similar."  
  
"Well, we can't really worry about this now. It's time to open the flower shop," said Ken.  
  
"You guys go ahead," replied Omi. "I want to keep looking. You don't mind, do you?"  
  
"Nah, no problem," said Youji.  
  
"Good luck," added Ken. "We'll see you in a bit." Then they were gone and Omi went back to work.  
  
* * * 


	3. Mission 3: Piece of Heaven

CHAPTER THREE: Piece of Heaven  
  
"This sucks!" yelled Maki, throwing a leash on the ground. "How come all the girls go to their flower shop but no cute boys come in here?!"  
  
Leela looked up from her place by the counter, "I guess not everyone needs dog toys. Girls will always find an excuse to need flowers."  
  
"I wish someone would send me flowers!" Maki said, pouting.  
  
"Come on, Maki," said Yuko. "It's not that bad. We get enough business. Just because we're not constantly dealing with a throng of hot male customers doesn't mean.."  
  
Maki cut her off, "Yeah, whatever. It'd just be nice to have a boyfriend sometimes."  
  
Makoto came downstairs, "You know we can't really do that. It's not safe, doing what we're doing now."  
  
Maki sighed, "Yeah, I know. Oh, Mako-chan! Did you find anything?"  
  
"No," Makoto replied. "Nothing that'll help us figure out who they are. I figured I'd just help down here for now."  
  
"Well, now that Mako-chan is here, I know what'll cheer you up, Maki! Want to join the masses over at Koneko no Sumu Ie?" Yuko asked.  
  
Maki's eyes widened excitedly, "You mean, you want to go check out cute guys with me?"  
  
"I know that's what you want to do. That's what you always want to do!" Yuko smiled.  
  
"Do you guys mind if I go with you?" Makoto asked. "You don't mind, do you, Leela?"  
  
Leela looked around the empty store, "I think I can handle it. You guys have fun."  
  
"We'll be back soon! I promise!" Maki cheerfully called as she ran out the door. Yuko and Makoto exchanged a look but waved good-bye to Leela and followed.  
  
Maki, Yuko, and Makoto crossed the street to the flower shop. The sidewalk out front was overrun with squealing teenaged girls, and Yuko visibly twitched.  
  
Without missing a beat, Maki began plowing through the throng of girls. "Excuse me! Pardon me! MOVE!" she bellowed. Yuko and Makoto shrugged and followed behind her. The girls who were pushed out of the way shot angry glares, but parted like the Red Sea, anyway.  
  
Finally, Maki made it up to the front and stopped so suddenly that Yuko ran into her, and Makoto ran into Yuko.  
  
"What is it?" asked Yuko. "What's wrong?"  
  
"They're...they're..." stammered Maki.  
  
"They're WHAT?!" demanded Makoto, already on the alert to an attack.  
  
Maki broke into the biggest smile they had ever seen and exclaimed, "They're GORGEOUS!"  
  
Yuko thwacked her. "Anyway, let's go talk to them," she said. Grabbing Maki's and Makoto's hands, she pushed open the door to the flower shop with her foot and stomped inside.  
  
"GOOD MORNING!" chanted all three girls at once.  
  
Startled, Ken dropped a flowerpot, breaking it on the linoleum floor, promptly getting reamed by the customer who intended to buy it. "Oh! I'm sorry, Ken! I didn't mean to mess you up!" cried Maki, running to his assistance.  
  
Meanwhile, Youji sauntered up to Makoto and Yuko, "Hey, ladies. What kind of flowers are you looking for today?"  
  
"Whoa," said Makoto, noticing the huge bruise on the side of Youji's face. "That's a hell of a shiner you've got there."  
  
"Huh? Shiner?" repeated Youji, touching his face. "Oh, yeah! I, uh, had a little tiff with a particular violent date last night," he said, slowly. "You know how women are sometimes."  
  
"Bitches," Makoto and Yuko said, simultaneously.  
  
"I wouldn't go as far to say that," Youji said. "Emotional, I guess."  
  
Yuko looked at Youji, taking note of the shiner and the tallness. Poking Makoto discreetly, she said, "You guys are super-busy today, huh? Don't you have anyone else to help out?"  
  
"Well, yeah," Youji nodded. "There's Momoe but it's her day off and Aya but he's in the hospital. Omi's upstairs doing some homework."  
  
"Oh, I remember! You mentioned Aya yesterday. How's he doing? And what's wrong with him anyway? I mean, will he be okay?" Makoto had taken note of the significance of Yuko's finger jamming her ribs.  
  
"He's fine. Just grumping around more than usual," Youji answered, oblivious to the Makoto and Yuko's well-disguised suspicion. "He just had a little accident. He should be home tonight."  
  
"That's great! We'll come back over to see you when he gets back!" cried Yuko, over-enthusiastic. "I like blue flowers. I'm going to go look for some!" She ran over to look at the display cases, leaving Makoto to continue talking to Youji.  
  
"So.," Makoto started but was suddenly pushed aside by an under-aged twit with yellow hair and ridiculously loose socks.  
  
"Youji-san," she said sweetly, latching herself onto Youji's left arm. "Do you have any roses in stock? Red ones. I want to give some to someone I love."  
  
Youji looked at the blonde scrupulously, "You're not over 18, are you?"  
  
Makoto sighed, "I can see you're busy, Youji," she stated pointedly. "Is it all right if we come visit you later tonight?"  
  
"Makoto.," Youji started.  
  
The pushy teenager interrupted, huffily, "Youji-san! I thought you were helping me!"  
  
Makoto stood a few feet away, eyebrows raised and arms crossed, "Is it all right, Youji?"  
  
"Yes! Please come by!" Youji called while being dragged by the arm by the girl.  
  
Sighing again, Makoto went over to where Maki and Yuko were standing with Ken. Yuko was tugging on Maki's sleeve, repeating, "It's time to go, it's time to go.," over and over again. Maki and Ken were flirting in a most unskilled way.  
  
Makoto poked Maki in the ribs, "Oh, Mako-chan! What's up?" Yuko looked exasperated.  
  
"It's time to go," she said. "We'll come back later tonight. If that's okay with you, Ken."  
  
"Absolutely!" Ken said, cheerfully. "Come over any time! Maki, are you coming, too?"  
  
"Well, of course, Ken," Maki said, smiling. Makoto and Yuko exchanged a worried glance.  
  
"Ken, could you ring me up?" Yuko asked, holding out a blue flower.  
  
"Nah," said Ken. "You go ahead and keep it. It's on the house. Maki, let me get you one, too!" He added. Opening one of the cases, he shuffled around for a minute before handing Maki a yellow rose. She squealed with excitement. "Makoto, would you like one to? Free of charge, of course."  
  
"That's sweet of you, Ken, but no thank you. We really have to get going," Makoto answered.  
  
"Bye, Ken! See you tonight!" called Maki as the trio headed out the door.  
  
Yuko and Makoto entered the Pet Store followed by a very distracted Maki. Yuko shot her a mean look, but she missed it. Yuko didn't like where this was going.  
  
"Emergency meeting!" yelled Makoto, and Leela immediately flipped the sign on the front door to "closed", locked up, and they all headed for the basement.  
  
The four women gathered around the round table in their basement. Makoto flipped a chair around and straddled it. Everyone else gathered around her. Apparently, she had an important announcement.  
  
"I have a suspicion," started Makoto, "that our flower shop boys are more than meets the eye."  
  
"They're Transformers?" joked Maki. Leela told her to shush.  
  
Makoto continued, "Youji has a bruise on his eye that, I kid you not, is shaped almost like a foot! And Yuko remembers kicking someone very tall. Which Youji is. They have an injured comrade in the hospital, but were not forthcoming with exactly why he's there. It just seems too convenient."  
  
Yuko nodded, "I agree. I think we need to find out more about those guys. They pretend to be all normal, but there's just something not right. And the fact that there's four of them, and they're very secretive.I mean, that's pretty much all we know about Weiss! And it also describes our boys perfectly."  
  
Leela also nodded her consent. "OK, you guys could be on to something. I say we bug them. How are we going to get in and take care of that?"  
  
Makoto smiled, "I already invited us over tonight after closing. I'll place a bug then. I'll get started on getting the equipment ready right now."  
  
"Hold the phone!" Maki yelled. The three other girls paused in their planning and stared at her. Maki looked annoyed. "I think this is just a wild goose chase!" she said. "I think bugging those boys would be mean and wrong! I mean, what are the odds that the very people we're looking for would be right across the street? Come ON! It's stupid." She crossed her arms and stared her friends down.  
  
"Maki, it may be possible! It's just a suspicion. We can't afford to be too careful," Yuko cried.  
  
Makoto agreed, "Yuko's right. We have to find Weiss before they find us."  
  
"Think about it," Leela added. "Think about those boys. Even before we spoke with them, we've seen them come in very late at night. Four of them, all living together and working together. It's very unusual. Plus they really do fit the profile."  
  
"Profile, my ass!" screamed Maki. "You're going to have to do better than that!"  
  
"So let us!" yelled Yuko, rolling her eyes. Struggling to contain her annoyance, she continued, "Just let us plant the bug. If nothing goes down in 24 hours that would make us more suspicious, we'll deactivate it and take it home! No biggie." Makoto and Leela nodded their agreement.  
  
"What if it's not them and they find out? What'll they think of us then, huh?" challenged Maki.  
  
"They won't find out, Maki. I promise," said Makoto.  
  
Sighing, Maki relented, "I guess you're right. I don't have a choice, do I? You just better make sure they don't find out! Please?"  
  
"Don't worry. Ken won't think any less of you," Makoto insisted.  
  
"Oh, god, what if your stupid theory is right?" groaned Maki. "Then what?"  
  
Yuko stifled a rude remark while Makoto and Leela just stared at Maki blankly. After a long moment of stifling and staring, Leela finally offered her answer, "I honestly have no idea."  
  
* * * 


	4. Mission 4: The Last Supper

CHAPTER FOUR: The Last Supper  
  
Later that night, the four girls knocked on the door of the flower shop. Ken answered, grinning happily. "Welcome, ladies!" Opening the door wider, they entered. Ken led them through the store and to the back where the tiny rooms were hidden. "This is it, " he told them, "it's not much, but we get by just fine."  
  
Sprawled across a big chair was Youji, and Makoto walked over to join him. Omi sat on a long couch placed in front of a small TV, and Yuko decided to sit with him. Omi seemed to be the most jovial of the boys, and it put her at ease. Leela also seated herself on the couch, and Ken took Maki by the arm and led her to sit with him on a small love seat perched at the side of the room.  
  
The girls immediately noticed the boy who must be Aya. He stood alone in a corner of the room. Not looking comfortable or uncomfortable. In fact, the girls were convinced in an instant that Aya probably didn't even care about comfort. He said nothing to them, but gazed out at each one of them in turn, probably sizing them up. Yuko took an immediate disliking to him, and he gave Maki the creeps. Leela and Makoto exchanged a look that clearly said 'now HE fits the profile.'  
  
"So," Leela started. "You must be Aya. Did you just get out of the hospital today?"  
  
"Yes," he answered, toneless and clearly wary of the fact there were four strange young women in his house. His reply was immediately followed by a minute and a half of stony silence.  
  
Breaking the silence, Omi cheerfully asked, "Would anyone like a drink?"  
  
"Yes, please," replied Maki and Makoto while Yuko and Leela both shook their heads no.  
  
"Youji-kun, Ken-kun, Aya-kun?" Omi offered again. Ken and Youji nodded while Aya didn't move at all. "OK, I'll be right back!"  
  
"I'll go with you," Yuko said, eager to scope out the joint and, as a bonus, escape Aya's death glare.  
  
As they left the room, they could clearly hear Leela asking Aya, "So, just what hell is your problem?"  
  
By the time Omi and Yuko got back with everyone's drinks, Aya had vacated the premises so everyone was that much more at ease. In fact, Maki and Ken were heavily engaged in a flirtatious conversation about apples and other tasty fruits. Leela had scooted to the edge of the couch to talk with Youji and Makoto about just why women were such a colossal pain in the rear.  
  
Handing Makoto her drink, Yuko whispered, "What happened to Senor Grumpypants?"  
  
"Senor Grumpypants?" repeated Youji, smirking, because clearly Yuko was not that talented at whispering.  
  
"She means Aya," Leela stated, loudly. "Apparently, he doesn't like when people ask what his problem is. I just thought I ought to call him on that attitude." Ken stifled a laugh.  
  
After a couple hours of Katzen having general merriment with the men they suspected were Weiss, Makoto decided it was time to actually plant the bug. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have to go to the bathroom," she said, standing up, discreetly checking that the bug was still safely in her pocket. Omi had mentioned the basement and his computer while they were talking so she figured that would be the best place to put it.  
  
"I'll show you where it is," Youji offered.  
  
"That's all right. I'll find it on my own!" she insisted. Quietly, she slipped down through the flower shop, carefully checking to make sure Aya wasn't lurking around. In the basement, she located Omi's computer without a problem and as quick as she could, attached to the underside of his desk. Heading back up the stairs, however, she ran into Aya who was apparently on his way down.  
  
"What are you doing in here?" he asked, regarding her coldly.  
  
"Oh," Makoto said airily. "I was just looking for the bathroom and got a little lost."  
  
"It's upstairs," Aya replied.  
  
"Oh, duh. Thanks!" Makoto rushed back up the stairs and to the level above the shop. Where fortunately, she actually did find the bathroom because by that time she needed it.  
  
Shortly thereafter, Makoto headed back into the sitting room where she flopped down on the chair next to Youji and declared, "Wow! That was some good bathroom!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, that was nice and pleasant!" said Ken with a smile, after the girls had left.  
  
"Spending an evening for four equally beautiful women is always pleasant," said Youji, slurring his words a bit from all the alcohol he had consumed.  
  
Omi looked at him, crossly. "Youji-kun, do you always need to drink so much when we have company?"  
  
Aya chose that moment to enter the room and said, "Youji finds every occasion an occasion to drink."  
  
"Aya-kun!" Omi exclaimed, turning his attention to the leader of Weiss. "Why did you leave like that? Those girls are probably going to think you don't like them!"  
  
"I don't," Aya said.  
  
"Why not?" Ken asked, unable to disguise the bit of whininess that entered into his voice.  
  
Aya shrugged. "Something about them puts me on edge. They're suspicious. And I'm not fond of you three inviting people over without consulting me. We could be dead right now."  
  
Ken began laughing hysterically. "Dead?! You really think those four nice girls are capable of killing someone?! I dunno, Aya.I think you've gotten to be too paranoid."  
  
Still stifling giggles, Ken wished them goodnight and headed to his room.  
  
Omi yawned and stretched. "I think I'll turn in, too. Night, Aya-kun, Youji-kun!" Aya grunted goodnight and Youji started to snore, as he had already passed out on the couch.  
  
Aya watched Omi and Ken leave and frowned. Maybe he as being too paranoid.but there was something about those girls.  
  
* * *  
  
"What the hell is that god awful noise?" whined a mildly hungover Youji. Omi started surveying the room, and the buzzing seemed to get louder by his worktable.  
  
"I'm not sure," Omi said, inching closer and closer to the table as if trying to sneak up on whatever was buzzing. Ken and Aya looked at each other askance and also began creeping towards the table. Youji twitched on the sofa, but stayed put.  
  
When Omi was just inches away from the sound, he pounced! "Gotcha!" he yelled, pulling a rather innocent looking device out from under the table.  
  
Aya's eyes turned into little slits as he gazed at the object in Omi's hand. "A bug."  
  
Across the street in the basement of the Pet Shop, the members of Katzen were screwed.  
  
"Dammit! Crap! Mother pusbucket!" swore an enraged Maki. Makoto sighed and turned up the speaker they were using to listen to the boys. Yuko and Leela gathered closer around the speaker as Maki continued to flip out. Through the speaker, they could hear Ken doing about the same.  
  
"Dammit! Crap! Who would be bugging us?!" cried a very disturbed Ken. "Who could have gotten in here?!" Aya grunted. He had a pretty good idea of who could have gotten in. Youji stood up and spoke directly into the bug, "hey, are any ladies over 18 listening?"  
  
Makoto thunked her head down on the table.  
  
Omi pulled the bug away from Youji before he could hit on it further, and carried it over to his computer. "This is easy enough to trace. Just give me a few minutes and I'll tell you exactly who put it here!"  
  
Makoto, Yuko, and Leela exchanged worried looks. Maki gasped, "In a few minutes, we're going to be caught!" Leela shushed her. "Don't panic. Let's think about this calmly and rationally. Does Omi actually have the skills to trace that bug?"  
  
"Yes", said the other girls, simultaneously.  
  
"Well, then," Leela said with a sigh, "I guess in a few minutes we'll be caught."  
  
On the other side of the street, the boys of Weiss were waiting to be blessed with Omi's wisdom.  
  
"OK, guys, almost done. Here it comes." Omi's printer came to life.and there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Who the hell is that?" muttered Aya. "Ken, go answer the door and send them away!"  
  
Ken ran upstairs and was greeted by a sobbing Maki. He opened the door just a crack and stuck his head out. "Whoa, Maki, what's up? Is something wrong?" Maki pushed her way past Ken and into the shop. "Oh, Ken! I just had the most horrible fight with my friends! Can I please go sit down somewhere? Great!" With that, she headed towards a half-opened door at the back of the store where light was streaming through.  
  
Ken watched her go for a second, unsure of what to do, and then realized where she was going. "Wait! Um.you can't go down there! Youji is walking around drunk and naked!"  
  
Maki shrugged, "I've seen drunk naked men before. It's OK." She started down the stairs.  
  
Attempting not to ponder where Maki had seen drunken naked men before, Ken followed her down the stairs, raving at the top of his lungs. "But Youji is a very mean drunk! And Aya is naked too! And Omi! We're all sitting around naked and scratching ourselves!" Maki's answer was just to cry harder as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to the couch without a thought and plunked down next to Youji.  
  
"Oh, it's just awful!" she cried. "Yuko and I had a fight about the store! She thinks I'm no help and that I'm useless and it's my fault we don't have customers! She always blames me for everything!"  
  
Ken walked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's just dumb," he said, "you're not useless. I'm sure you have a lot of uses!" Youji rolled his eyes. Aya grunted. Omi had all but forgotten about the secret resting on his printer.  
  
Maki stood up and began pacing the room. "You guys don't fight, do you? No, probably not. Boys don't fight as much as girls." She made her way over to Omi's worktable and leaned up against it. "You know.I think getting some air and coming over here made me feel better already! And you guys aren't naked at all! I don't know what Ken was talking about. Guess I should go! Bye!"  
  
With that she made a quick stop to kiss Ken on the cheek, and ran upstairs.  
  
When Omi looked back at his worktable, the printout and the bug were gone. "Um, you guys," he said, gesturing to the table. "Anyone care to render a guess as to who was bugging us?"  
  
Ken's eyes bugged out, "You don't mean.why would.they couldn't!"  
  
"They could and they did," Aya stated flatly, glaring at the others from a corner.  
  
"Well, it explains some stuff," said Youji. "But why would they do it? And why haven't they made a move before?"  
  
"Who knows," Omi wondered. "Since they know who we are and haven't made a move against us yet, I doubt they have bad intentions."  
  
"Yes!" Ken agreed, loudly, standing up quickly. "They don't mean any harm. I'm sure they have their reasons for being there that night."  
  
"They're murderers. They need to be stopped. And we're the ones to stop them," Aya glared at Ken. Ken glared right back at Aya, not wanting to believe what he was saying.  
  
Youji and Omi exchanged a quick look before Omi said, "Maybe we should do a little more research on them. Try to find out their intent. Maybe they have some kind of connection to that cartel. Maybe it was a one-time thing."  
  
"I don't believe it," Aya stared at them all in anger and disbelief. "They never should have been let in here in the first place."  
  
Ken started to yell something back in Aya's direction but was interrupted by Youji, "It's too late to worry about that now! Let's let Omi do his research and we'll confront them later! In the meantime, I'm going to sleep and I'd suggest you do the same."  
  
Giving Ken, Youji and Omi one last disgusted look, Aya stomped off to his room where he could be disgruntled in peace. Ken sank back down on to the couch, his head in his hands. Youji put a hand on Ken's shoulder and said, "It's gonna be all right." Ken just shook his head. Youji sighed and left Ken to his thoughts while Omi settled back into his computer chair.  
  
* * *  
  
"I think you boys will all be very entertained by the presentation we have for you tonight," Manx said with a grin. Youji, Ken, and Omi all flopped down on the sofa in the basement of their flower shop while Aya took his usual brooding stance in the corner.  
  
The projector screen came down from the ceiling and the boys known as Weiss looked on at the shadowy figure of their leader.  
  
"Weiss," began Persia, "there is a new threat to Japan. A large all female gang called Unagi. They are recruiting droves of new members and will soon initiate their plan to own Tokyo. These young women thrive on violence and have no problem killing innocent people. Lately, they have been offering to 'protect' stores throughout Tokyo, as long as the store pays their fee. If not, the store faces destruction."  
  
A picture flashed up on the screen of a store out by the bay that had been leveled by what looked to be an explosion. Next, a picture of a young woman no older than 18 popped up on the screen. It looked like a mug shot, but was in color. Weiss noted the woman's curly brown hair and darker complexion. Persia's voice came back to say, "this woman is one of the leaders of Unagi. Her name is not known. In the chain of command, she is the one who decided to initiate these attacks on stores and an even deadlier plan to make their existence known throughout Japan. We believe that they will be launching a terrorist attack this weekend during the Natsu Matsuri. This woman must be targeted before the festival. That is your mission. Hunters of the night, deny these evil beasts their tomorrow!"  
  
With that, Manx flipped the lights back on and the projector made its way back up to the ceiling.  
  
Youji whistled and said, "A gang of all women doesn't sound too threatening to me."  
  
Aya looked at him darkly and said, "Of course even women can be deadly. Schreient taught us that. And are you forgetting our new friends?"  
  
With that, Manx looked curiously at Aya, "Yes, of course. Have you made any progress discovering the identity of the women you came in contact with on your last mission?"  
  
Aya opened his mouth to say something, but Ken quickly stood up and said, "No, not yet. We're still clueless! Yep, totally clueless!"  
  
Manx looked from Aya to Ken and back again. Ken gave Aya a look as if to dare him to challenge his words. Aya chose not to. Manx also chose not to press the matter further. Starting with Omi, she passed folders around the room. "In here you will find directions to Unagi's last known hideout and an 8x10 color photo of the target. Good luck." With that, Manx walked quietly up the stairs and disappeared.  
  
Omi looked at Ken and asked, "Why did you lie to Manx? We know who Katzen is now!"  
  
Ken said nothing, but Youji smirked and said, "Because he's afraid Persia will see them as a threat and make them our next targets. Isn't that right Ken?" Ken looked down at his feet and then turned and strode upstairs.  
  
Aya turned to Youji and Omi and said, "You two keep an eye on him. He tends to let his emotions interfere." Then he, too, turned around and walked upstairs. 


	5. Mission 5: Carnival 2000

CHAPTER FIVE: Carnival 2000  
  
Maki, Yuko, Makoto, and Leela squeezed their way through the crowds packed onto the streets of Tokyo for the summer festival. Music played loud enough to wake the dead and everyone was out in their traditional Japanese clothing. Even the women of Katzen had decided to show up in yukata, and brave the streets in their geta sandals.  
  
As they clicked along, Maki was ever vigilant for their new friends. The florists by day, assassins by night.  
  
Yuko saw Maki looking all around and rolled her eyes. "This place is packed. The chances of seeing them are slim and none", she said to her friend. Maki made a pouty face but kept looking.  
  
Makoto placed a hand on Yuko's shoulder and said, "I'm actually with Maki. I know those boys are more dangerous than they seem...but I just can't help wanting to see them again."   
  
Yuko sighed. Leela turned around from her place just ahead of them and smiled. "Don't worry, Yu-chan. Maybe that Aya will take a liking to you!" Yuko shot her an angry glare. Maki remarked under her breath that Yuko was the master of disgusted facial expressions.  
  
Leela suddenly stopped short, causing her friends to run into her, as was their way. "Hey, look, there they are!" she exclaimed and pointed through the crowd to a cluster of boys. Two were smiling and eating rice balls, one was putting his moves on the nearest lady, and the fourth was standing off to the side, looking disgruntled.   
  
Makoto smiled, "That's them all right!" She then took off in the direction of Youji and Random Girl #240. There was a certain predatory glint in her eye, and the other girls knew better than to argue. Following suit, Maki took off towards where Ken and Omi were stuffing their faces. Leela and Yuko watched them go, looked at each other, shrugged, and then followed.  
  
"Uh oh, here comes trouble!" Youji said with a smile as Makoto approached.   
  
She giggled in what she considered to be a most feminine way, and pushed herself in between Youji and the girl he had been talking to. "Oh, I'm no more trouble than you are," she said while admiring how he looked in his navy blue yukata.  
  
Ken's eyes lit up as Maki approached, and he began walking to meet her in the middle. Unfortunately, he wasn't used to his sandals and tripped before he made it to her. Maki closed the distance and caught him before he made a very embarrassing splat on the ground. As he looked up from his near disaster, he blushed. "Sorry. I can be such a klutz sometimes. And yukata make it hard to walk."   
  
Maki smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "Think nothing of it. Since you look so cute dressed like that, I won't hold it against you." Ken's blush deepened. Omi laughed. Maki flicked a piece of rice from Omi's cheek. Omi blushed.  
  
Aya stood watching the whole exchange and frowned deeply. 'Why are they doing this?' he thought, 'As far as we know, Katzen is the enemy.' To her own accord, Leela was thinking along those same lines about Weiss. But she enjoyed seeing the other girls happy.  
  
It was getting late and the sun had set, sending a light breeze and a certain sense of calm over the festival. The matsuri lights had been dimmed and the music played on.  
  
Yuko had gotten into a discussion with Omi about hay fever, and was doing her best to ignore Aya, when the fireworks began. And with the fireworks, came the screams.  
  
At first the sounds seemed to blend right into the fireworks and matsuri music. Then, the sound escalated until it drowned out the music, and gunshots were soon heard. Before anyone knew what had happened, young women brandishing automatic weapons were pouring out onto the street and were firing randomly, killing dozens of people every few feet.  
  
Maki looked at Ken. Makoto looked at Youji. Yuko looked at Omi. Aya and Leela avoided looking at each other. The secret was about to be out.  
  
"Dammit!" Ken and Maki swore together.  
  
Ken took Maki's hands and said, "I have to go now. I think you know why."  
  
For some reason, Maki was suddenly overwhelmed with fear, but she nodded and quietly said, "Yeah, I know. I have to go, too." Ken studied her face to see if she seriously planned on fighting. She did. Ken leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Then he turned from her and ran into an alley with his friends. Presumably to change clothes or think of an attack plan.  
  
Maki quickly wandered over to where her friends were now hiding. Crouched beneath a vendor table. Leela waved her over, and Yuko said, "We saw that, you big dumbass!"  
  
Maki ignored her and asked, "OK, what's the plan?"  
  
"Plan?" Makoto repeated. "Good question. All I have is a derringer strapped to my thigh. No other weapons."  
  
"Not to mention we're not exactly dressed for fighting," stated Leela. "I say we call this one off."  
  
"No!" yelled Yuko, startling them in the small space. "We knew this might happen! OK, so we're not professionals like Weiss and didn't think to be more prepared. That's our fault. You live, you learn. I'm packing a big knife under this thing, " she gestured to her yukata. "So that's one gun and one knife. What else do we have?"  
  
Makoto sighed. "Did you not hear what I said? A derringer! I have one bullet! It's just for emergencies."  
  
Yuko looked at her with determination, "Then I suggest you use that bullet wisely."  
  
Maki sighed, "I have a handful of button bombs on me. I didn't bring more because, well.Unagi wasn't this violent when Yuko and I were there! They had their moments, but they usually didn't just shoot people in cold blood!"  
  
"Obviously," Yuko stated, coldly, "there's a new Unagi in town."  
  
Leela closed her eyes, which was her habit when thinking about something very seriously. The other girls became quiet, and a minute later Leela opened her eyes and said, "Maki will run out there just long enough to plant a few button bombs around the perimeter. Then she'll come back here to detonate them. Try to get the bombs close around Unagi and avoid contact with innocent people. We'll watch your back. If anything happens, Makoto can use her derringer, or Yuko can attack from behind. Got it?"  
  
The other three girls nodded. Maki reached into her bag and pulled out the handful of bombs. Without another word, she took off.  
  
Maki stumbled a few paces before finally kicking off her sandals and ripping at the bottom of her yukata. Pushing her way through the crowds of people still screaming and running to avoid the gunfire, she finally had a few members of Unagi in her sites. Dropping two bombs, she kept circling around.  
  
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind, and a hand was clamped over her mouth. Maki was jerked hard and dragged into an alley, kicking and screaming.  
  
Warm breath and a soft voice in her ear said, "I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. Don't scream, or they'll hear you."  
  
Maki nodded, was released, and spun around to slap her kidnapper.  
  
"Ouch!" Ken said, rubbing his left cheek. "What the hell was that for?!"  
  
"You messed up my groove!" Maki raged at him. "Katzen is not an infantile operation! We came up with a plan just as good as anything you could come up with, if not better!" She raised her hand to hit him again, but he grabbed both her arms and slammed her up against the cold brick wall of the alley. Before she could protest, he had his lips pressed to hers in the most passionate kiss she had ever received.  
  
When Ken pulled away, Maki was speechless for all of 5 seconds before she started yelling again, "you think that makes up for it?! My friends probably think I'm dead or crushed by thousands of scared pedestrians now! They aren't armed, Ken! They'll get hurt!"  
  
Still holding her in a firm grip against the wall, Ken leaned in and whispered, "but you just said they're not infantile. They can take care of themselves. It's you I'm worried about."  
  
Maki blinked at him. "Why me?"  
  
Ken stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before he finally said, "Because I think I."  
  
"MAKI!" yelled a relieved voice from the opening to the alley. "Thank God you're all right!"  
  
Makoto came running up to her, pushed Ken out of the way, and hugged Maki. "We thought you had been trampled to death!"  
  
Maki managed a smile and said, "not quite. My little guardian angel here thought the mission was too dangerous for a proper little lady such as myself." Makoto shot Ken a look that actually seemed appreciative, and then put an arm around Maki.  
  
"Come with me, " Makoto said, "when you disappeared, the other girls freaked out and Yuko started ranting about stabbing members of Unagi in the face, and Leela grabbed a katana from a nearby shop to start slicing them up. Not to mention Weiss. They've been doing pretty good damage."  
  
Maki's head was reeling, but she allowed Makoto to lead her out of the alley and into a war zone.  
  
"And you, Ken," Makoto called over her shoulder. "Did you know about this?" Ken nodded, weakly. "Then I suggest you do you what you came here to do." Not knowing quite what to do at this point, Ken followed them out into the madness.  
  
Back in the light, Makoto squeezed Maki's hand before running off to look for the other girls. Maki slipped across the other way to continue planting the bombs. She discovered quickly that it wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped. Innocent people in a state of utter panic were everywhere. Members of Unagi packing heat seemed to be oblivious of the four people out of hundreds trying to stop them and continued gunning people down without regard. Panicking herself, Maki realized they didn't have much time to stop them. If they were bold enough to attack blatantly at the summer festival, they must have something more than semi-automatic weapons up their sleeves  
  
Youji scanned the crowd, looking for their one main target. So far he'd found nothing but screaming children and angry young women with guns. He'd done his best to stop who he could but Unagi was quick and, in the crowd, it was difficult to differentiate gang members and scared civilians.  
  
"Hey!" a female voice called. Youji turned and saw Makoto running up behind him. "You guys have to do whatever you have to do and then get the hell out of here! This is a decoy. I saw a bunch of girls planting bombs in trashcans and things. In a few minutes, Unagi's going to clear out and detonate the bombs while everyone's still freaking out from the riot they just caused."  
  
"What?" Youji asked. "Are you sure?"  
  
"I saw it with my own eyes. Just watch your back and let the others know," she said, looking at him directly so he would hopefully know she was sincere. "Please? Don't let them win. And.don't you go getting hurt."  
  
She started to run away but Youji grabbed her by the arm and made her face him, "Why are you doing this?"  
  
Shaken, the only answer Makoto could muster was, "You have your reasons and we have ours. End of story. Now go!" Breaking free, she ran off to warn the others. Youji stared after her for a moment but decided it would be wise to heed her warning.  
  
Leela had just received a warning from Makoto about the bombs. She'd already found Maki and told her. Maki hadn't seemed surprised for a change and accepted Leela's directions to go meet Makoto back where they'd started. Now Leela just had to get to get to Yuko before it was too late. She'd already noticed that Unagi's members were thinning out.  
  
Leela spotted Yuko in front of her. As quickly as she could, she caught up with her. "We have to go," she said, urgently.  
  
"Why?" asked Yuko. "What's going on?"  
  
"They're planning to bomb the place. We have to get out of here. Mako- chan and Maki are.," Leela started.  
  
But she was cut off by Yuko's yell, "Hey! Watch out!" Following Yuko's gaze, she saw Omi, reloading his crossbow, completely oblivious to an Unagi member with a gun cocked just a few yards away. Omi looked up, confused. "Behind you!" she yelled at him, running over there with Leela not far behind.  
  
"Huh?" asked Omi.  
  
But, that time Yuko had reached the girl behind him and stabbed her squarely in the chest. Omi stared at her, his eyes wide. "We have to leave!" Leela told him. "I don't know if you know but they plan to bomb the place."  
  
"Bomb it?" he repeated. "How do you know?"  
  
"Who cares!" cried Yuko. "We have to get out of here! Come on!" Grabbing his arm, she started running.  
  
Then they heard the shot behind them. When Omi fell, Leela realized the girl Yuko had stabbed had enough fight left in her to pull the trigger. "Shit!" she swore as she and Yuko stooped down to check on him.  
  
"I'm okay," Omi said, wincing. "It's just my leg."  
  
"Oh, god," Yuko said, as she tore some fabric from her yukata. Wrapping it around the wound, she told him "This'll have to do for now. We've got to keep going." They struggled to help him up then continued on to Katzen's meeting place.  
  
Half carrying and half dragging Omi, Yuko and Leela finally arrived at Katzen's meeting place. Maki and Makoto were already there, looking tense.  
  
"What happened to Omi?!" gasped Makoto, hurrying over to help Yuko and Leela get him resting comfortably.  
  
Yuko was winded from the effort of carrying Omi, but managed to say, "he got shot in the leg by an Unagi member. Those bitches."  
  
Omi struggled to get his wounded leg into a comfortable position, but failed miserably. "Dammit," he swore. "I'm a sitting duck if anything happens now. And where are the others?"  
  
Maki squinted into the crowd and failed to see any other Weiss members. "It's impossible to say," she told Omi. "Hopefully they listened to our warning and vacated."  
  
Omi sighed. And with that sigh came an explosion to their right. Then another to their left, and so on and so forth.  
  
Maki let out a startled scream and Makoto pulled her under the vendor table they were using for shelter. The four members of Katzen and Omi sat as close together as they could, like sardines packed in a can.  
  
Explosions kept erupting all around their hiding place, and Yuko had to close her eyes to keep from crying.  
  
After a few more explosions, everything became deathly silent. The group of five under the table didn't even dare breathe, lest they disturb the sudden peace.  
  
Finally, after a minute of silence, Leela said, "I think it's over. Let's get Omi to a hospital. Although I have a feeling they're going to be packed."  
  
"But what about my friends?" Omi asked, while allowing Yuko and Makoto to help him to his feet.  
  
"I'm sure they're fine!" Maki said, sounding a lot brighter than she was feeling.  
  
As the group walked out into the streets of what had once been a happy festival, they were devastated by what they saw.  
  
Everywhere, the dead lay in groups, riddled with bullet holes. The once beautiful matsuri lights were broken and torn to shreds, and there was darkness and silence all around.  
  
"Oh, shit," said Omi.  
  
* * * 


	6. Mission 6: Instant Karma

CHAPTER SIX: Instant Karma  
  
Youji and Aya made their way through the crowds and simply slaughtered any Unagi members that stood in their way.  
  
After finally reaching the outside of the festival grounds, they stopped to catch their breath.  
  
"Where are Omi and Ken?" Youji was the first to ask. Aya looked at him, and then back into the hell they just escaped.  
  
"I don't know, " Aya said, quietly. "Hopefully, they also got the message from those girls."  
  
Youji cracked a smile and said, "see, Aya, they're not so bad. If it hadn't been for them, we would never know about Unagi planting bombs. In fact, you're lucky I found you and let you know!"  
  
Aya grunted, "I have yet to see any explos."  
  
Aya was cut off by the first explosion. Several more followed, and Aya and Youji stood watching in awe as people near the brunt of the blasts were tossed into the air like dolls, and the festival fell to pieces.  
  
After it was all over, Youji said, "I hope like hell that Omi and Ken got out of there." And, in a whisper to himself, "and that Makoto, too."  
  
* * *  
  
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" chanted Omi as the girls led him off the festival grounds.  
  
Yuko giggled at him to try and lighten the mood, "You're such a baby! One would think you'd never been shot before, you big scary assassin, you."  
  
Omi grinned and said, "actually, I haven't. I've been stabbed, punched, kicked, poisoned, kidnapped, and everything else.but never shot."  
  
"Well," said Leela, "there's a first time for everything."  
  
"I just wish I knew that my friends were OK", Omi said with a sigh.  
  
"I'm sure they are, " Maki tried to assure him again. "But right now we have to worry about YOU being OK.'  
  
With that, they walked in silence to their car, where they loaded up Omi and rushed him to the hospital.  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't wait any longer," Youji said, determined. "I'm going to look for Ken and Omi."  
  
Aya shook his head. "No, you can't. This place is about to be crawling with police who won't think twice about questioning two heavily armed men in trenchcoats. Let's go."  
  
"But." Youji began to protest, but Aya held up a hand.  
  
"Trust me," Aya said. "I'm also concerned about them, but they can take care of themselves. Come on."  
  
Wanting to protest further but knowing it would do no good, Youji gave one last look at the ruins of the natsu matsuri, and then followed Aya to their car.  
  
* * *  
  
Ken woke up with a splitting headache and a bright light in his face.  
  
"Good morning, sunshine!" said an overly enthusiastic nurse. Ken moaned.  
  
"That's a pretty nasty bump you have on your head, there", the nurse said, walking over to check Ken's vital signs. Reaching up, Ken felt gauze and bandages wrapped around his head.  
  
"What happened?" he asked the nurse.  
  
With a sigh, she said, "you got hit by some flying debris during that horrible explosion at the festival. The police found you. You're really lucky you didn't get shot during that whole mess! Oh, and the police are gonna come back and question you later. They wanna know about some weird weapon you had on you at the time. But don't fret! I'll be back later."  
  
With that, Ken let out another groan and flopped down on his pillow. "Ow!"  
  
* * *  
  
"You were lucky," the nurse told Omi. "You were far enough away from your attacker so the bullet wouldn't have done any serious damage. Actually, all we had to do after the bullet was removed was to give you your stitches and run a few tests. You're so lucky to have made it through that horrible scene."  
  
"He doesn't have to stay in the hospital?" Makoto asked, looking concerned.  
  
"He should be all right. Unless you'd like us to keep him overnight for observation," the nurse replied.  
  
Omi shook his head, "No, I'm sure you need my bed for someone else. I'm all right."  
  
The nurse patted Omi's hand, then addressing the girls, "Are you his sisters?"  
  
"His friends," Yuko answered after a few seconds hesitation.  
  
The nurse smiled, "You're lucky you have friends like this looking out for you."  
  
Omi looked behind him at the four girls whose faces were stained with blood and tears, the girls who had saved his life, the girls who, if the order came, he might one day have to kill. Finally, he said, "You're right. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them."  
  
The nurse smiled and handed Omi a pair of crutches, "Have a good night. You can pick up your pain medication from the pharmacist and we'll call you tomorrow with your test results."  
  
"Thank you," called Maki as the nurse left.  
  
* * *  
  
Youji was pacing the flower shop in a huff. Aya sat on the couch with his legs crossed and head down.  
  
"Where the hell could they BE?!" Youji kept yelling every few minutes. Aya had stopped bothering to answer him an hour ago.  
  
A few minutes passed, and Youji was about to yell out his question again when the flower shop door opened. In stepped Ken. His head was wrapped in bandages, and he was wearing his brown leather jacket over a hospital gown, and his legs were bare except for his brown boots. And even those were half un-tied.  
  
Youji gawked at him. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked. Ken limped dramatically into the shop and brushed past Youji without answering. Aya stood from the couch and Ken flopped down on it. "Ow", he said.  
  
After a few moments of silence, Ken finally said, "I woke up in a hospital. They said I had clunked my head and was unconscious. I.I had to leave because the police were gonna come back sometime and ask me about the weapon they confiscated from me at the scene. Those are questions I'd rather not answer, so I split."  
  
Aya nodded. Ken looked around the room and then asked, "where's Omi? Is he upstairs? And.do you guys happen to know if those girls made it out all right?"  
  
Youji shrugged and said, "no word from Omi. No word from those girls, either. We've been watching their shop, but the lights are still off and no one has been in or out."  
  
Ken sat up quickly. "Ow," he said again, and then continued, "aren't you guys the least bit worried?! They could all be laying dead at the festival somewhere!" With that, Ken raised himself off the couch, and seemed about ready to become a one-man vigilante with the intent of finding Omi, and, Youji assumed, that Maki girl.  
  
"Sit down!" Aya bellowed, stopping Ken in his tracks.  
  
"No one is going anywhere," Aya continued. "we're going to go to bed, get some much needed rest, and then come at this fresh in the morning."  
  
For once, Ken was too tired to argue.  
  
* * *  
  
At about four o'clock in the morning, Makoto parked the car beside the pet shop. Omi was asleep beside her in the front seat and Maki and Leela were asleep in the back, leaning against each other. Yuko had stared out the window silently since they left the hospital. Until just then, actually, when her gaze turned to the flower shop across the street.  
  
"What should we do with him?" Makoto whispered to her.  
  
"He's exhausted. And Weiss doesn't even seem to be home," Yuko replied quietly. "Omi can just stay with us for tonight or at least until we find out if the rest of them got out okay."  
  
Makoto nodded and gently shook Omi awake. "We're home," she told him.  
  
Leela sat up suddenly. Maki's head drooped forward until it hit her knees and startled her awake. "Ow!" she cried. "What'd you do that for?"  
  
The girls got out of the car and fetched Omi's crutches from the trunk.  
  
"Um...," Omi said, groggily, rubbing his eyes. "Shouldn't I go home?"  
  
"Don't worry about it. You can stay with us tonight," Makoto said.  
  
"You're exhausted and, for Christ's sake, you were shot and, if we take you home now...you might not be able to get a good night's sleep," added Yuko, handing him the crutches.  
  
"They're right," said Leela. "Aya and the others are going to have a fit if they're there. We'll be able to handle all this better in the morning."  
  
Omi stood up shakily with the help of his crutches. It occured to him just what a mess Katzen, not to mention Weiss, was in.  
  
"Come on, Omi!" Maki said with a yawn, opening the backdoor for him. "It's late!"  
  
Omi hobbled in as fast as he could, followed by the other girls.  
  
"You'll take my bed tonight," Yuko told him. "I'll sleep on the couch."  
  
"But, Yuko-san." Omi tried to protest, but Yuko held up a hand to silence him.  
  
"I won't take 'no' for an answer," Yuko said with a smile, "and it's just Yuko, OK?" Omi nodded and smiled.  
  
"This way," Makoto said, placing a hand gently on Omi's back to guide him. "Over here is Yuko's room, and over here is the bathroom. As soon as you wake up tomorrow, we'll take you home."  
  
Omi shuddered a bit. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked. "Maybe I should just go alone. Aya might be."  
  
"Who cares about what Aya thinks?" Yuko said.  
  
"Well, he's our leader." Omi began again, but Leela broke in with, "that's enough about this tonight! Everyone go to bed!"  
  
Everyone obliged. 


	7. Mission 7: Last in my Winds

CHAPTER SEVEN: Last in My Winds  
  
Youji, Ken, and Aya sat around their tiny kitchen, pondering the whereabouts of Omi.  
  
An entire night had passed and there was no word. Ken spun his coffee cup around in his hands, Youji chain smoked, and Aya warmed up some waffles.  
  
"I can't stand this waiting!" Ken finally spouted. "He could be laying in a hospital somewhere with amnesia!"  
  
Aya sighed and ordered him, "don't be melodramatic."  
  
Youji was about to put in his two cents when the door squeaked open.  
  
"Hello?" came a female voice from the other side.  
  
"Maki!" Ken practically knocked his chair over to get to the door. Once there, he opened it all the way and stood staring at Maki. She was dressed in big gray sweatpants and a pink tanktop, her hair still mussed from it being so early in the morning. Behind her stood the three other members of Katzen and.  
  
"OMI!" Ken called, the relief in his voice apparent. Running out and throwing an arm around his friend (to which they both yelled, "ouch!"), Ken then turned to the Katzen girls and said, "Go on in! Aya is making waffles!"  
  
Yuko suppressed a frown. She was sure Aya didn't want to share his waffles with them.  
  
The four girls, Omi, and Ken entered the kitchen. Aya's usual scowl deepend. Youji walked over to Omi and happily announced, "I knew you'd make it!"  
  
To that, Omi smiled and said, "if it wasn't for these four, I wouldn't have. I owe them a lot."  
  
Maki handed a small bag to Ken and said, "This is everything he needs. It's medication for the wound and the pain, clean bandages and things. The hospital said you make a follow-up appointment for him in two weeks."  
  
Then, they all became painfully aware of the situation they were in. Leela looked at Aya, and wondered if it was possible for his frown to get any deeper.  
  
It was. Aya's expression darkened severely and he stomped past the other joyously reuniting members of Weiss to stare down at the girls. "You know what this means, don't you?"  
  
Yuko rolled her eyes. "A rumble?" Makoto poked her in the ribs and shook her head. If anything could make matters worse, it would be Yuko's smartass remarks.  
  
"Maybe we should go somewhere where we can talk. Explain this all to you," suggested Leela.  
  
"At least let them explain, Aya," pleaded Omi. "They saved our lives last night."  
  
"If they hadn't let us know what was going to happen, none of us would be here right now," added Youji, in between cigarettes.  
  
Giving the girls one last hard glare, Aya stated flatly, "You can explain it to our boss."  
  
* * *  
  
Twenty minutes later, Weiss and Katzen were seated downstairs, waiting for Manx's arrival. Aya stared at them from his usual position by the wall. Still in their pajamas, bruised from last night's battle, squashed together on one tiny couch, Katzen hardly looked like a threat. Youji and Ken were seated opposite them and Omi in a large chair, his injured leg stretched stiffly out in front of him. None of them knew what to think.  
  
They heard the door upstairs open and close, then footsteps on the stairs. Manx had arrived. "So you're Katzen, huh?" she asked them. The girls nodded, solemnly. "We took the liberty of doing some research on you. It's not much. You're Makoto Yoshizawa, age 21. Formerly worked for the police. No criminal record."  
  
"Correct," Makoto replied, listlessly.  
  
Checking her files, Manx went on to the next girl, "You are Yuko Yaguchi. Age 20. Imprisoned for three months, four years ago. Parents deceased. Two sisters, both missing."  
  
Yuko shook her head, "My older sister is dead. My younger sister is in an orphanage."  
  
"Was in an orphanage," Manx told her, matter-of-factly. "She ran away from the orphanage about two years ago."  
  
"That's not possi.," Yuko started.  
  
But Manx had already moved on to the next girl, "Maki Konno. Age 19. Ran away from home at 15. No known family. Imprisoned at the same time as Yaguchi." Maki made no move to agree or disagree.  
  
"Leela Mullen. Age 23. No criminal record. Parents were killed four and a half years ago. No other family," Manx said.  
  
"You're wrong," replied Leela.  
  
"Pardon me?" asked Manx, looking skeptical.  
  
"Makoto, Yuko and Maki are my family," she stated, looking Manx squarely in the eye. "We're doing this because there are people that need to be stopped. We aren't finished until they are."  
  
Manx crossed her arms, "And whom exactly are you trying to stop?"  
  
"Unagi," Leela answered, unfazed by Manx's cold demeanor.  
  
"Unagi?" repeated Manx. "And you knew Weiss went to the festival last night to stop them?"  
  
"No," Makoto chimed in. "That was a coincidence. We'd bugged this place to confirm that they were actually Weiss. We heard about the problem with Unagi but the bug was discovered and destroyed before we heard about last night's mission."  
  
"I see. And how exactly did you know about the bombing before it happened?" She inquired.  
  
"I saw them setting them up," Makoto responded.  
  
"I'm assuming you then warned Weiss and the rest of your group," Manx said. Makoto nodded. "Now tell me. How did Omi get shot?"  
  
"Leela came to warn me about the bombs," Yuko told her. "I saw a member of Unagi behind Omi with a gun. I tried telling him but he was distracted, so Leela and I got to her before she got to Omi. She wasn't dead, though, and when we were running away, she shot at us and Omi got hurt."  
  
"Why?" asked Manx.  
  
Katzen blinked at her. "Why what?" asked Yuko.  
  
Manx looked Yuko straight in the eye and said, "Why did you warn Weiss? Why did you help Omi? Why? What's in it for you?"  
  
Standing up, defensively, Yuko shouted, "What do you mean 'why'? I wasn't going to stand there and let him die! I don't want to see any of my friends get hurt! And I consider Weiss to be friends!" She shot a glance at Aya. "The majority of them, anyway."  
  
Manx said nothing to Yuko's outburst. She stood cold and silent, looking at them. Yuko sat back down, and all four girls waited to hear what Manx would say next.  
  
"You," she said, looking down at Maki. "You haven't said much."  
  
Maki continued to sit, unmoving, looking down at her hands.  
  
"Why?" Manx repeated the offending word. "Why aren't you talking?"  
  
Without looking up, Maki barely whispered, "Because if I open my mouth, I'm afraid I'll cry."  
  
Manx slammed the folder full of Katzen's secrets down on the coffee table. "You really think you can beat a gang of ruthless criminals, when you can't even keep from crying because a stranger is yelling at you?!" screamed Manx. Weiss looked at her, their mouths agape. They had never seen Manx lose her cool like that.  
  
"I'm not crying because you're yelling," came a slightly louder reply from Maki. "I'm crying because we failed. I'm crying because Omi and Ken were both injured, because we were just a bit too late. I'm crying because Unagi is still out there, and so our mission will continue. I'm crying because I'm selfish, and wish things didn't have to be this way. But they are, and nothing you say or do can change that. You are nothing to us. And if worse comes to worse, Weiss will become nothing to us."  
  
Everyone was silent, pondering Maki's words. Finally, Ken spoke, "Maki." he began, reaching out to her.  
  
"Don't," she said. Ken stopped, thought about ignoring her order, but pulled his hand away, anyway.  
  
"I see how it is," Manx said, coldly. "What if they get the order to kill you?"  
  
"Then so be it," Maki replied, just as coldly. "But they'd better be able to stop Unagi as well."  
  
Manx stood quietly looking down at all four members of Katzen for quite some time. Then, turning on her heel, she addressed Weiss.  
  
"I am leaving this up to you," she said to the four young men, "you either accept these girls as just another addition to the scenery, making no moves against them and no moves to help them.or you decide they're a threat that must be destroyed, and do so. I will have Aya report the verdict to me by 14:00."  
  
And then, without another word, Manx was gone.  
  
Katzen stiffened on the sofa and looked warily at Aya, who said, "Get out of my house."  
  
The girls stood and stormed out, apparently trying to show their displeasure by stomping on the stairs as hard as they could.  
  
Ken and Youji took the place on the sofa they had just vacated, while Aya walked over to sit across from them.  
  
"So I guess we'll just be leaving them alone from now on," Ken said a little too quickly.  
  
Youji and Omi nodded their assent. "Yeah," Youji said, "we'll just pretend they're not there. No skin off our noses, right Omi?"  
  
Omi nodded vigorously. "Absolutely."  
  
Aya looked from one of his partners to the others, and back again. "If this was a democracy," he began, "then I would be outvoted. But since Manx assigned me, personally, to deliver the verdict, I think my vote should count for much more."  
  
"That's not fair!" Ken yelled, jumping to his feet. "You only want to kill them because that's the easiest thing to do! Out of sight, out of mind! Well, I'm not willing to do that!" Youji pulled Ken back down onto the sofa, since the poor guy looked to be on the verge of tears.  
  
"I'm with Ken," Youji said. "It seems like you're just being lazy. Or maybe you're scared. Is that it, Aya? Are you afraid the little girls will do a better job than."  
  
"ENOUGH!" Aya yelled, slamming his fists down on the coffee table. "There is more to this than you know. I've been sitting here, quietly, watching the three of you fawn over these girls. You befriended them, invited them into our home, and then looked the other way when you found out they are dangerous creatures! I've had enough of it. If it continues, I'll see you get closer to them, care about them, protect them, and then get yourselves killed or fail the mission in the process!"  
  
Ken, Youji, and Omi were speechless.  
  
"Aya-kun," Omi said, "would it be all right.instead of killing them, could we just promise not to speak to them ever again? If your point is you don't want us to care about their well-being any further, than stopping a friendship with them would work just as well."  
  
Aya considered it for a moment before saying, "fine. I have each of your words that you will not contact those Pet Store girls again. But if Katzen shows up on another one of our missions, then they are to be killed on the spot. And if you three don't do it, I will."  
  
* * *  
  
"That BITCH!" raged Maki to anyone who was listening. "Who the hell does she think she is?!"  
  
"Calm down," Leela ordered. "You know as well as I do that nothing they say matters. Whether they're ordered to kill us, or whether they just tell us to stop.nothing will matter. We'll get away. Our mission will continue."  
  
Ever since their meeting with Manx, the members of Katzen had gone through stages of angry, betrayed, depressed, and ultimately accepting.  
  
Maki was still on angry, Makoto had become depressed, Yuko was feeling betrayed, and Leela, as usual, was accepting.  
  
As the four young women sat thinking about their next course of action, there came a gentle knock on the door. Leela got up to answer it, and it was Omi that walked through.  
  
"I have some bad news," he said without preamble. "Aya says we're not allowed to be friends with you anymore. No more nights of drinking and talking, and not even any phone calls. It's like we're strangers again."  
  
Maki flopped down hard in a kitchen chair, and Makoto looked like she could cry at any moment.  
  
"There's more." Omi continued. "If Katzen ever shows up on another one of our missions.Aya will kill you. And he can do it. I think you all realize that."  
  
Silence followed Omi's announcement. He quietly turned around and began to leave the Pet Store, turning around just once more to say, "Good-bye."  
  
* * *  
  
"How you doin'?" came a suave voice from the darkness. Makoto nearly dropped the trash bags she was carrying out to the dumpster behind the Pet Store.  
  
"Youji!" she hissed, "what the hell are you doing here? I thought you guys weren't supposed."  
  
Youji silenced here with his index finger to her lips. "I just wanted to come and tell you that Ken, Omi, and I don't share Aya's feelings." He removed his finger from her mouth.  
  
Makoto nodded. "I already know that."  
  
"Good," Youji said, lighting up a cigarette.  
  
"You shouldn't smoke," Makoto told him. "It's bad for your health."  
  
At that, Youji chuckled. "Being an assassin is bad for my health, too. Which brings me to my other point. You girls should quit. Stop this before you get sucked in any farther. Before it's too late."  
  
Makoto regarded the man in the shadows thoughtfully before speaking again. "Youji," she said, "I would expect someone like you to respect us. But I guess you don't."  
  
Stepping further into the light, Youji took Makoto by the hand and said, "That's not it at all. I respect you girls very much. And that's why I can't stand the thought of you getting yourselves killed. Weiss exists to do this job for you. Why won't you let us?"  
  
Makoto's bottom lip trembled in an attempt to keep her faculties about her. She finally regarded Youji coolly and said, "Because this job isn't yours to do. Unagi means nothing to you. You never believe me when I say we have our reasons. You just keep pressing the matter. Please.just go."  
  
Stomping his cigarette out on the ground, Youji placed a hand under Makoto's chin and pulled her head towards him. He gave her a feather light kiss on the forehead and said with a sigh, "I guess you're right. I didn't respect you enough. Do what you have to do." And with that, he disappeared back into the shadows.  
  
* * *  
  
"Pssst!" came a sound outside Maki's window.  
  
Ignoring it, she turned over in bed and continued reading her latest murder mystery novel.  
  
"PSSST!" came the sound, much louder this time.  
  
"Oh, for God's sake!" Maki huffed. Putting her book down, she crossed to the window and opened it with every intention of throwing a shoe at whatever was being noisy.  
  
Before she could even stick her head out to see what was up, a face appeared in her way.  
  
"Hi!" said Ken.  
  
Maki yelped and fell on her butt. Ken let himself in through her window.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Aya would kill you if he found out."  
  
Ken seated himself comfortably on the bed, "Well, that's his problem."  
  
Maki tugged at his arm, trying to pull him off her bed, "No! It's your problem and it's my problem! Now get out of here."  
  
"Ouch!" Ken cried.  
  
Maki dropped his arm, feeling guilty, "Shit! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I forgot about that."  
  
Ken winked, "It didn't hurt. I just wanted you to let go."  
  
Maki couldn't help but smile, "You really shouldn't be here, you know," she said, sitting down beside him.  
  
"I know," Ken replied softly. "But I wanted to see you. Aya would flip out. But he doesn't have to know." He gently took her hand. "You know, Maki.Youji, Omi and I...we don't care about what Aya says. We've decided it's best we don't contact you, for your sake. Aya keeps saying things like we have to stop speaking before we start to care about you. But it's really too late for that, you know."  
  
Blushing, Maki turned so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. His gaze was so direct, his eyes so sincere. How could a man like him be hiding secrets like his when the truth was written all over his face? His pain, his fear, his emotions. Quickly changing the subject, she said, as casually as she could, "Yeah, that Aya is a real droid. How's Omi's le...?" Before she could finish, she was silenced by Ken's lips on her own.  
  
For a few moments, Ken and Maki were locked in a passionate embrace. Breaking their kiss, Ken whispered softly into Maki's ear, "I love you, you know..."  
  
"You can't," she whispered back, fear in her voice.  
  
"I know," he sighed. "When this is all over, maybe..."  
  
"Will it ever be over?" Maki asked.  
  
Ken's answer was cut off by a sharp rap at the door. Then he heard Yuko's voice, "Maki? What's going on in there?"  
  
"N...nothing!" Maki yelled.  
  
They could hear Yuko's foot tapping impatiently, "I know when you're lying, Maki. I'm coming in."  
  
With that, Yuko opened the door and stormed in. Seeing Ken, her eyes flashed with anger, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get us all killed?"  
  
"Which one of us are you asking?" Maki asked, cynically.  
  
Yuko sighed, "Does it really matter? Either way, Ken, you can't be here. I wasn't planning on dying today."  
  
"I'm not going to kill you or Maki or the others either," Ken told her.  
  
"What, you didn't get the assignment yet?" asked Yuko sarcastically, glaring at him. "You know, if it wasn't for us, ALL of you would be dead! And your stupid friend feels the need to tell us to stay out of your way! You know, you're damn lucky we came along! And you're damn lucky we gave enough of a crap about you to save your lives!"  
  
"Yuko!" cried Maki. "Stop!"  
  
"No! I will not stop!" Yuko yelled right back at her. "You're sitting here, whispering sweet nothings to a boy who would kill you if he was told to!"  
  
"I wouldn't kill her! Or any of you! No matter what the assignment! Aya's the only one of us that would do that," Ken shouted. "I told Maki and Youji told Makoto. That's not going to happen. We're not going to get that assignment."  
  
"How do you know?! Huh?!" screamed Yuko. "You don't know anything! You obviously don't know what Unagi is capable of! And you just disregard us like we're nothing! And then, you risk all our lives and that asshole Aya's wrath by coming over here and trying to hump Maki!"  
  
By the time Yuko had finished that portion of her tirade, Ken was just as angry as she was. He stood up, angrily and was glaring at her across the room, struggling to control his frustration, he said, "I was not trying to hump Maki. But I think she has the right to know how we feel. How I feel! We can handle Aya."  
  
Hearing all the yelling, Makoto and Leela came running and before Yuko could come up with a retort for Ken, they grabbed both her arms and were trying to calm her down. But Yuko was seething. Her frustration, anger and confusion had come pouring out and she didn't know how to control it anymore. Giving up, she sank to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest.  
  
Makoto sat down beside Yuko, attempting to comfort her. Ken looked at Maki and saw the tears running down her face. "I'm sorry," he told her. She just shook her head.  
  
Leela addressed Ken, "Is there anything else you need to say?"  
  
Ken thought for a minute and realized there was only one question that needed to be asked, "Why do you want to stop Unagi so much? All you ever said is that you 'have your reasons.' What are they?"  
  
"My parents are dead because of them," replied Leela, curtly.  
  
Maki quietly gave her reply as well, "They are responsible for the death of someone I loved."  
  
"My reason is similar to theirs. They killed my partner and best friend in the police force," Makoto told him.  
  
Yuko was silent for a while before saying, "They killed my older sister. When I went to look for her, my younger sister was put in an orphanage. I haven't seen her since."  
  
Ken was taken aback, "Wasn't that four years ago? Unagi's been around that long?" The girls nodded.  
  
"Unagi has been selling drugs for years. Four years ago, they started selling tainted drugs to other dealers to put them out of business," Leela told him, frankly. "Since most of their members are teenagers, they've been able to target a younger group to sell drugs to."  
  
"The cartel that you had targeted during the first mission we saw you at was actually an off-shoot of Unagi," Makoto continued. "They were selling the tainted drugs the main unit had given them."  
  
"Unagi is bigger than you know," Maki said, avoiding Ken's eyes. "Years ago, Yuko and I were in it."  
  
"What?" Ken looked at her, surprised. "You were in Unagi?"  
  
"Yes," Maki told him. "I joined for a stupid reason. Just to impress some boy who was in a gang, too. I gave up my family and everything else I had."  
  
"I joined because it was the only way I could find out what happened to Mari. That's my older sister," Yuko answered quietly. "Our parents died when I was thirteen, Mari was sixteen and Satori was ten. Mari joined because she got a share of their money and she didn't want to have to put Satori and I in an orphanage. She couldn't see us often but she would leave money or something for us in the mailbox every day for three years. And then it stopped. So I went to look for her. And I went looking for her in Unagi."  
  
"What.happened?" asked Ken, still shocked.  
  
"I had to leave Satori with an elderly neighbor because we didn't have any family. I had to join to find out what happened to her. She'd tried to leave and they'd killed her," Yuko said, not looking up.  
  
"That's where I met her," Maki said. "And that was around the same time that they killed my boyfriend. We both wanted to leave but we couldn't because they'd kill us, too. It took a month or so but we ran away. The first thing we did was go back for Satori."  
  
As Yuko continued, Ken couldn't help but notice the tears in her eyes, "The neighbor I left her with had died while I was gone and they'd taken Satori to an orphanage because they thought Mari and I abandoned her. I called the social services place and they wouldn't tell me anything else. And we were running from Unagi anyway."  
  
"There was no where we could go," Maki went on. "We weren't safe anywhere. So we thought if we could get arrested, at least being in jail would keep us from being killed."  
  
"That's where I met them," said Makoto. "I had my own personal vendetta against Unagi, so I watched Maki and Yuko for a few weeks before helping them escape. Then I obviously left the force and the three of us decided to start Katzen, for the soul purpose of destroying Unagi."  
  
"But they needed a place to work, because you can't do anything without money," said Leela. "I was living in Ireland and my parents owned a chain of pet stores here. One day I received a call. I was told that two of the stores my parents owned had been bombed by a gang that was soliciting their 'protection' for a large sum of money. My parents had been inside the second store, and were killed."  
  
"We ran into Leela purely by accident, while trying to find work at the third store she took over. But of course she wanted to destroy Unagi, too," said Maki. "So Katzen was formed."  
  
"That explains a lot" came a voice from outside Maki's window. In an instant, Youji and Omi were wrestling around, trying to get through at the same time.  
  
After finally plopping to the ground, and helping Omi through (not an easy task, with his leg and all), Youji brushed himself off and said, "you guys didn't tell me you were having a party."  
  
Omi grinned and added, "or are we not invited?"  
  
Yuko looked warily at them. "You guys are going to be the death of us." 


	8. Mission 8: Beautiful Alone

CHAPTER EIGHT: Beautiful Alone  
  
"Shhhh!" Omi shushed Youji and Ken, nervously. "What if Aya-kun is home? He'll wonder where we've been!"  
  
Youji patted Omi's head and said, "don't worry about that. He's visiting Aya-chan in the hospital tonight."  
  
The three members of Weiss stepped into their kitchen and flipped on the light.  
  
Sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee in his hands, was Aya.  
  
"I cut the visit with my sister a little short tonight," he said without looking up. "I thought I would come home early and relax before the mission. I was pleasantly surprised to see you had all gone out."  
  
He looked up at them, then, his eyes burning. "And where did you go tonight, I wonder?"  
  
"Nowhere," Omi insisted. "I mean, we saw a movie! A short movie."  
  
Aya stood then and walked over to them. "You've broken your word," he said in a low voice that would give Hitler chills. "If they show up tonight, you can bet I won't break mine."  
  
And then he turned and walked away.  
  
* * *  
  
"Can I come in, Ken?" Youji asked his solemn partner from the door to Ken's bedroom.  
  
"Sure," Ken answered, not bothering to turn over and face Youji.  
  
The lanky assassin walked across the room and plopped down on Ken's bed.  
  
"Haven't we been over this?" Youji immediately asked. "Haven't we figured out that it doesn't pay to fall in love?"  
  
At that, Ken turned over and smirked. "It's different this time, Youji. She's not some innocent girl who I could accidentally hurt. She has as much blood on her hands as I do. Youji.I've passed up on love before because of my job. No, more like because of who I am. I'm not doing it this time. I can't."  
  
Youji sighed and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Then hold on to her and never let go."  
  
With that, Youji stood and left the room, closing Ken's door softly behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
It was hot and stuffy in the vents of Ungai's headquarters.  
  
Maki was sweating as she placed button bombs squarely throughout the complex. At times like these she wished she wasn't the smallest and most compact member or Katzen.  
  
"How's it coming?" a voice asked through her headset. "Fine," Maki whispered back to Makoto, "I'm circling the perimeter."  
  
Far above Maki, on the rooftops, Yuko stood watching and waiting. And far below, in the basement of Unagi headquarters, Leela was preparing her attack. Makoto skulked around the main floor, hunting down their computer so that she could plant a virus that would level all communication between Unagi headquarters and all their offshoots. Then, they would detonate Maki's bombs, destroying the headquarters itself. Tonight was the culmination of all they had worked towards for four years. It was their hope that tonight would be the night Unagi was finally destroyed.  
  
* * *  
  
On the other side of the city, Weiss also prepared for their mission. Youji, Ken and Aya were prepared and ready to go. Omi was setting up communication devices so he could speak with them. He had the blueprints and other detailed information about Unagi's headquarters on his computer. Still injured, he was unable to go but would be navigating for them during their search for the target. Manx had come to them this morning with this plan. It was so soon after Unagi's attack at the festival, Kritiker thought now would be the best time to attack while Unagi was still vulnerable.  
  
"Here," Omi said, handing each of the other assassins an earpiece and a small microphone. "I'll be able to communicate with you this way. You guys better go."  
  
Aya, Ken and Youji each took one and but it in place, then left the flower shop and rode away in Aya's car. Staring after them for a moment, Omi then turned to the pet shop. There was no sign of movement from within and no light was coming from the upper floor. He hoped they'd just gone to bed early that night.  
  
* * *  
  
"The bombs are in place and ready to go," Maki said softly into her headset.  
  
"I haven't had a run-in with any members of Unagi yet," came Makoto's response. "I don't think they know we're here. Leela, what's your status?"  
  
"Ready and waiting for your signal," Leela whispered. "Yuko?" No answer. "Yuko?" she said again.  
  
Yuko hesitated, "We.we have company. I think."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Makoto.  
  
"Weiss is here," Yuko said. "I saw them at the perimeter. Youji, Ken and Aya. They went three separate directions. I can't tell where they're going."  
  
"Dammit!" Maki swore. "What the hell are they doing here?"  
  
"They same thing we are, I imagine," Leela replied. "Just try to stay out of their way. We don't want to get killed before we finish this, do we?"  
  
Makoto added, "Keep going. Don't let Weiss being here distract you from what we came here to do."  
  
"Right," Yuko and Maki agreed simultaneously.  
  
Yuko crouched down as far as she could into the shadows, hoping that Weiss wouldn't see her. She then began slowly creeping along the roof and towards the stairs leading down into the complex. She and Leela would attack from the top and bottom, respectively, and take out the leader of Unagi once and for all.  
  
Leela had just stepped onto the first floor landing when she heard the voices. Turning slowly, she saw two members of Unagi walking towards her. They couldn't have spotted her yet in the darkness, but in a moment they would. Thinking quickly, Leela scurried over to the nearest window and dangled herself over the edge, holding on to the sill. Even if she fell, it would only be one story. She just hoped that the members of Unagi didn't decide to close the window.  
  
They passed her. Leela let out the breath she had been holding and pulled herself back into the complex. So far, so good.  
  
* * *  
  
Makoto reached the second floor and finally discovered her target.  
  
The large computer sat against the far wall of a desolate room by an emergency power generator. Apparently, they relied very much on their computer to store information on their members, drug deals, and coordinate their attacks.  
  
A slightly evil smile lit Makoto's face. She was going to enjoy this very much.  
  
Stepping lightly into the room, the second eldest member of Katzen made her way over to the computer, sat down, and began preparing to upload the virus.  
  
* * *  
  
Maki dropped to the ground from her place in the vents.  
  
Coming out on the third floor, she planned to head to the roof and wait for the other girls to meet her. Then they would scale down the side of the building like bats outta hell before Maki detonated the bombs.  
  
She did not expect a hand to reach out of the darkness and clasp hard over her mouth. She also did not expect to get dragged into a nearby room, the door closed and the latch thrown.  
  
"We have to stop meeting like this," came a voice in her ear. Maki's muscles relaxed and her capture released his grip on her.  
  
She couldn't see him in the darkness, but she knew Ken was angry with her.  
  
"Ken" she whispered, "Tonight is the night we've planned for four years. Please don't tell Aya. Please just let us do what we came to do."  
  
She heard him sigh, and felt his hand on her arm.  
  
"I won't tell Aya." He assured her. "But we plan on blowing this place all to hell.so you girls have to leave. Bottom line." His grip on her arm tightened.  
  
"Dammit, Ken" she hissed, "We're going to blow this place up, too! I've already planted the bombs! I think it would be best for you guys to get outta here."  
  
"OK, here's the plan," Ken said after a few moments. "You coordinate with us. Let us know when you guys are ready, and then we'll all leave."  
  
"Together?" Maki asked, a touch of hesitance in her voice.  
  
"Yes," Ken promised, leaning in to kiss her, "Together." 


	9. Mission 9: Epitaph

CHAPTER NINE: Epitaph  
  
Yuko was almost to the center of the building. The nerve center, and her meeting place with Leela. It's where they were certain their target was hiding.  
  
She was high-tailing it as fast as she could when something caught her arm, jerking her back against a wall and causing her much pain.  
  
"Ouch!" she said, a little too loudly.  
  
"Quiet," came a deep voice on the side of her injured arm.  
  
Yuko's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Oh, shit."  
  
"Come with me," the voice came again, tugging hard on her sore arm. Yuko winced.  
  
She was pushed roughly from behind into a small room, and a light was clicked on. She stood looking into the incredibly angry face of Aya.  
  
Without saying a word, Aya began to un-sheath his katana. Yuko gasped and said, "Aya, you really don't want to do this."  
  
"My name is Abyssian, and this is a mission," he stated, matter-of-factly.  
  
"Well, my name is Yuko, and this is me kicking your ass!" With that, she jump-kicked Aya, connecting with his "killing arm", and knocking his katana out of his hands. Then she smashed out the light and bolted as fast as her legs could carry her.  
  
* * *  
  
Leela was rounding the corner to her meeting point with Yuko when someone else ran straight into her, knocking her off her feet.  
  
"What the hell?" yelled Leela.  
  
"It's me, it's me," the girl told her, helping her to her feet.  
  
"Yuko," Leela sighed. "May I reiterate.what the hell?"  
  
Grabbing Leela's arm and taking off at full speed, Yuko told her, "It's Aya. He saw me and got pissed so I kicked him. So now we have to find the target and get the hell out of here or else we'll have Aya on our asses, too!"  
  
Struggling to keep up, Leela panted, "You know, kicking people isn't always the answer!"  
  
"Shit!" Yuko exclaimed, stopping short.  
  
"What now!?" cried Leela. But then she saw him. Youji was standing in front of them, looking at them crossly.  
  
"So YOU'RE the one that kicked me, Yuko?" He asked.  
  
"Dammit, we need to get by!" Yuko yelled at him, angrily.  
  
Just then, Makoto came around the corner ahead of them, "Quiet! They're going to know we're here! In any case, I planted and activated the virus."  
  
"Good," Leela said. "Now we just need to take out the leaders and then blow this place straight to hell."  
  
"Shhhh," Youji shushed them. The girls heard a buzzing in his ear. "Right. Well, that's Omi. Apparently, he, Maki and Ken worked out a plan. Who is your target?"  
  
Katzen exchanged a glance. "The leader of Unagi," answered Leela.  
  
"You don't know who that is, do you?" Youji asked them, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Can't say that we do," Makoto replied. "But we need to get to the main nerve center of the building. That's where the shit's going down."  
  
"Well, come on then," Youji said. "It's this way."  
  
* * *  
  
The three members of Katzen and Youji peered into the room.  
  
"What the hell? There's no one here!" Makoto sighed, exasperated.  
  
"That's just great," said Yuko, frustrated. "Why wouldn't they be here?"  
  
"Maybe they heard you yelling like frightened children, and escaped," came a baritone voice from behind them. Spinning around, they came face to face with Aya, who was holding his katana a bit more gingerly than usual.  
  
"Why are they still alive?" he asked, looking directly at Youji.  
  
Straightening up to his full height, Youji stood just an inch away from Aya and said, "Because we have a more important mission to worry about right now. We have a lot more dangerous women to kill than these girls, and, frankly, I like Katzen. So that is why they're still alive."  
  
Aya frowned and then shrugged his shoulders. Brushing past them and into the room, he said, "let's find the target's escape route."  
  
* * *  
  
"What is taking them so long?!" Maki cried, starting to panic.  
  
Up on the roof, the night had turned cold and Maki was shaking from chills and fear. Ken placed an arm around her and pulled her close. "Don't start to worry yet. Wait another 5 minutes, and then worry."  
  
Maki nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Maki spoke again. "Hey, Ken?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"Do you like kids?"  
  
Ken smiled. "Love them."  
  
"Good."  
  
* * *  
  
"The roof", Aya finally concluded, having discovered the target's secret escape route. "Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Bursting onto the roof like bats outta hell, the leader of Unagi and her closest cohort stumbled over two strangers and crashed to the ground.  
  
"What the hell?!" yelled Ken, and stood up, pulling Maki with him.  
  
The curly-haired leader of Unagi stood quickly and faced them, pulling out a gun in one swift motion and pointing it at Ken.  
  
Just as their target pulled the trigger, Maki jumped in front of Ken without a word. She didn't make a sound as the bullet plunged into her chest, and she only made the slightest of sounds as she fell to the ground at his feet. The only way to even tell anything had happened was the sound of the discharging gun, and the spray of Maki's blood all over Ken's shirt.  
  
Ken was too stunned to move, and the two members of Unagi used that moment to run towards their means of escaping from the roof.  
  
* * *  
  
Aya, Youji, Yuko, Makoto, and Leela were laying in wait for their targets. Aya had not only discovered their means of escaping from the nerve center of the building, but also a map showing their escape route from the roof.  
  
As soon as the assassins saw two shadowy figures emerge from a door that they knew led to the roof, they sprung.  
  
It only took a moment for Aya to take out the target's assistant, and then they all turned their attention to the person they had been planning to kill from the beginning.  
  
In the briefest of moments, the plan she had been participating in for four years was forgotten, as Yuko came face to face with her target.  
  
"Satori!" she yelled.  
  
* * *  
  
"Maki, hang on!" Ken begged, trying to hold back tears.  
  
In the moments after the members of Unagi had fled, Ken had kneeled down and taken Maki's limp body into his arms, and attempted to get her to open her eyes.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of shaking, pleading, and crying, Maki's eyes fluttered a bit, and then finally opened.  
  
"Ken?" she said, "I messed up really bad, didn't I?"  
  
Ken shook his head, causing a few stray tears to fall on her. "No, no.you didn't mess up. Everything is going to be fine!"  
  
"I couldn't let her shoot you," Maki continued, as if Ken hadn't spoken. There was an emptiness and distance in her voice that frightened Ken.  
  
"I couldn't let her shoot you," Maki repeated. "I'm sorry if you're sad. I guess I messed up."  
  
Pulling her even closer to him, Ken said, "I love you. And that's why I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you!" Maki's eyes began drifting closed again, and Ken spoke urgently into his headset, "Omi, are you getting this?!"  
  
From his end, Omi was shaking and trying to stay calm. "Yes, but you know there's nothing I can do from here! It's not like I can call an ambulance!"  
  
Maki's eyes fluttered open again. "Ken?"  
  
Ken looked down at her and leaned in a bit. His voice shook when he spoke. "Yes?"  
  
"I love you, too."  
  
With that, she closed her eyes and didn't open them again.  
  
* * *  
  
Hearing her name, the leader of Unagi glared at the girl who had apparently come to kill her, "So you've come to stop me, have you, Yu-chan?"  
  
"You know this girl? You caused this, didn't you?" Aya asked Yuko, glaring at her with a gaze just as cold as Satori's.  
  
"She should know me," Satori told him. "She's my sister. She left me ages ago to join this pathetic little gang. Yuko said she was coming back and she never did."  
  
Yuko stared at her sister, speechless. Behind her, Makoto, Leela, and Youji couldn't believe what was happening. Aya was the only one who had a reaction, "You're our target," he said, starting toward her.  
  
"No!" screamed Yuko, standing in front of her sister protectively. "Don't do this! It's my fault. Don't kill her."  
  
"You know I have no problem killing both of you," Aya told her.  
  
Youji grabbed his arm, roughly, "Stop."  
  
"Now you've come to save me, Yuko. Too bad it's too late," Satori whispered to her, grabbing her and putting a knife to her throat. "I had all those people at the festival killed. I killed that girl who came here with you. I turned Unagi into what it is today. I came here looking for you, big sister, and this is what I found. Some pathetic little gang that wasn't going anywhere. You were gone. Abandoned me. Just like Mari abandoned us."  
  
"I didn't.," Yuko said, crying. "I couldn't leave."  
  
"This is your fault, Yuko. You never should have left. Hell, Mari never should have left!" Satori yelled at her. "You may have wanted to protect me now. But it's too late, Yuko. It's too late for that. I won't let you stop me." Satori's knife tightened at her sister's throat. But, before she could pull the blade across, Yuko's elbow jammed into her stomach and she lost her grip.  
  
Grabbing the knife, Yuko turned around and stabbed the leader of Unagi in the stomach, "I'm sorry," she said.  
  
Satori sank to her knees, staring at her sister in shock.  
  
Makoto ran to Yuko's side with Leela just after her, "We have to go," Makoto told Yuko.  
  
Yuko looked her, "But Satori.and Maki."  
  
"Come on," Leela tugged her arm. "We have to go." The girls turned around to leave.  
  
"Yu-chan.," They heard Satori's weak voice behind them.  
  
"No!" Yuko screamed. "Let's go! Where's Ken? Where's Maki?!"  
  
"Maki's dead," came Ken's voice. He stepped out of the shadows. The others saw his face was stained with tears and his shirt drenched in blood. "You shot her," he said, seeing the wounded Satori. Before anyone could grab him or say anything, he ran over to her and thrust his bugnuk into her chest.  
  
Yuko screamed and clutched onto Makoto for support, tears streaming down her face once more,  
  
"Stop, please!" It was too late. Ken finished what Yuko started. Satori was lying on the roof, lifeless.  
  
"We have to go," said Aya. "Now."  
  
* * *  
  
From his place back at Weiss headquarters, Omi was crying. He couldn't help but feel guilty. Memories of Maki flashed through his mind, and he sighed. "Maybe if I had been there, I could have helped you," he said out loud.  
  
But, as it was, he was waiting for the signal to detonate 20 pounds of explosives that Youji had planted around Unagi headquarters.  
  
* * *  
  
Aya, Youji, Ken, Yuko, Makoto, and Leela ran down four flights of stairs and out of the building as fast as they could. Once they got outside, Youji ordered them to keep running for another 300 yards.  
  
Once they were a safe distance away, Youji said, "now" into his headset.  
  
With that, the huge building that had once been Unagi headquarters exploded in a torrent of fire, brick, and glass.  
  
"Get down!" yelled Leela, and they all dived behind the nearest car as debris rained down around them a little too close for comfort.  
  
After a few minutes had passed, the assassins could hear sirens approaching from the distance.  
  
"Time to go," said Makoto. They all stood, and looked out at the crater that had once been a prominent building.  
  
As they all turned around to leave, Yuko and Ken found themselves lingering just a little while longer. The pain had not hit them with full force yet, so they were in no hurry to get home.  
  
Makoto walked over and touched them both on the shoulders. They looked at her, nodded, and then finally turned to leave.  
  
* * * 


	10. Mission 10: The End

CHAPTER 10: The End  
  
"So do you still want to kill us, Aya?" Yuko asked as they entered the Koneko no Sumu Ie.  
  
Aya turned to her and sighed. "No. You completed your mission and have earned my respect. And.I'm sorry about your friend."  
  
With that, he turned and headed for his room.  
  
Ken stumbled over to the couch, removed his bloody bugnuk, and threw it onto the coffee table.  
  
"You guys should go," he addressed the remaining members of Katzen. "Everything is my fault. I don't think I can stand to look at you right now."  
  
Yuko sank down on the couch and told him tonelessly, "It's not your fault, Ken. It's my sister that killed her. Not you." Makoto started to cry, silently and Youji slipped an arm around her waist and tried to comfort her. Leela sat on the couch next to Yuko and tried to comfort her. Yuko's only response was to recoil from her touch.  
  
Omi came in with a tray of green tea for each of them. When he offered a cup to each of them, the only one who took a cup was Leela. Sighing and setting the tray on the coffee table next to Ken's bugnuk, he sat with Yuko and Leela on the couch.  
  
Ken stood and began pacing the room, angrily, "You know, Yuko, it was YOUR sister that killed her. This was your fault."  
  
Yuko looked as if she'd been punched in the stomach. Torn between grief for her sister's loss and grief for Maki, she struggled to hold back tears. Leela put her arm around her, protectively.  
  
"Ken-kun! What Satori did isn't Yuko's fault! She didn't know!" Omi cried.  
  
Makoto cried harder, her face buried in Youji's shoulder. "Ken, please," Youji looked at him, shocked. He stroked Makoto's hair gently, hoping she'd calm down.  
  
"Dammit, Ken. I'm sorry," Yuko said, not looking up. "You know.Maki loved you. And you loved her, didn't you? That's all she wanted, Ken. All she would talk about sometimes is how she wanted a lover she would die for and would die for her. You gave her what she wanted. If we didn't have this life, you would have gotten married, had fifteen children and moved to Hokkaido to live happily ever after. But you're an assassin, Ken. And so was she."  
  
Ken paused for a minute, pondering her words. He knew she was right. But that didn't change what had happened and didn't justify it either. Add Maki to the list of people he'd loved and lost. "But your sister.," he started.  
  
Finally looking up, Yuko was forced to look into Ken's accusing eyes, "I know what my sister did and I'm sorry, Ken. I can't fix what she did. I can't bring back Maki back. No one can. You know, Ken," Yuko stumbled over her words, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "I'm only here for two reasons. To stop Unagi and to find my sister. And you know what? Both my reasons are gone. Unagi is stopped because my sister is dead now. You and I killed her, Ken. And she killed Maki. And there's no changing it now."  
  
Ken closed his eyes tightly, managing to keep his voice level. "I'm sorry," he said, still not looking at Yuko. "You're right. It's not your fault. And Maki was your friend."  
  
Yuko nodded. "That's right. I've known her for over four years. But right now, I'm going to stop thinking about it before I drive myself crazy, and I suggest you do the same."  
  
She then stood and Leela followed suit. Makoto stifled her tears and pulled away from Youji. He looked at her with sorrow apparent in his eyes. He didn't want her to go. He knew that if she would just stay with him, he would make her happy again.  
  
As if reading his mind, Makoto leaned over and gave him a soft and long kiss on the lips.  
  
"Thank you," she said, "for lots of things."  
  
Leela thanked Omi for the tea, and the three remaining members of Katzen left the Koneko no Sumu Ie and split up, ready to start new lives out in the Tokyo night.  
  
* * *  
  
Morning came. Ken blinked his eyes and rolled over. There was a knock on his door.  
  
"Go away," Ken mumbled, pulling blankets over his head.  
  
"I have something for you," came Aya's voice.  
  
"I don't want it." Ken said.  
  
"Too bad," Aya said as he let himself into Ken's room.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Ken sat up and finally saw what Aya had for him.  
  
"Azaleas?" Ken said, taking the bouquet. "I don't understand."  
  
"They came for you today," Aya explained. "The sense of flowers coming to a flower shop is beyond me.but they were addressed to you and they don't say who they're from."  
  
With that, Aya walked out, leaving Ken to stare at the azaleas.  
  
"Azaleas," he mumled to himself. "They mean womanhood. Fragile passion. 'Take care of yourself.'"  
  
A tear rolled off his cheek and onto the flowers. 


	11. Epilogue: Shadows and Lights

EPILOGUE: Shadows and Lights  
  
ONE YEAR LATER:  
  
Weiss hid within the shadows of the garden belonging to their current target, a rich gentleman who had a habit of killing women and placing their bodies within the garden walls.  
  
Not only was their target the man responsible, but his female counterpart, as well. She would help lure the women to him, saying that she was a modeling agent.  
  
Youji was just about to round the back of the estate when he ran head-first into someone who appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"Shit!" the person in the shadows swore. Youji processed the voice and whispered, "Makoto?" with a hint of doubt in his voice.  
  
The figure sighed. "Should have known you boys would show up," it said.  
  
"It IS you!" Youji said a little too loudly.  
  
Makoto slapped a gloved hand over his mouth and hissed, "of course it is! We must have the same target tonight."  
  
Youji slapped her hand away and said, "Your mission was over a year ago! Why are you here now?"  
  
Makoto sighed and said, "Long story short, we couldn't go back to normal lives. So we became freelance assassins. After all, without missions we are only criminals, right?"  
  
Youji said nothing.  
  
Suddenly, all the lights inside the mansion went out, and Makoto said, "That's me and Yuko's cue! Here we go!"  
  
And then she disappeared into the darkness.  
  
His own mission forgotten, Youji followed Makoto into the darkness. He had to talk to her. Had to convince her to stop this. If he could only be alone with her, he could change her mind!  
  
But before he could get inside the mansion, the living room burst into flames.  
  
"MAKOTO!" he yelled over the inferno. Nothing inside moved, and there was no answer.  
  
Then, bursting out of a second story window, he saw three shadowy figures.  
  
Youji let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.  
  
* * *  
  
Ken had been inside the mansion hunting the target when the fire had started.  
  
He had been chasing the targets down the corridor to the living room when the female pushed over a four tiered candelabra right in his path.  
  
He would not have had time to jump out of the way if not for an arm snaking around him and pulling him back into the adjoining hallway.  
  
"We have to stop meeting like this," a voice whispered into his ear.  
  
Ken's heart stopped, and his blood froze.  
  
"It's.impossible," he stammered, not wanting to turn around.  
  
"Silly Ken," the voice said. "Nothing is impossible. And only good girls go to Heaven."  
  
Finally, slowly, Ken turned around and came face to face with the woman he thought had died in his arms a year before.  
  
"Maki," he said, reaching towards her. She held up a hand to stop him, and turned around. Flames were practically licking at their toes when she said, "And this is definitely not Heaven."  
  
Then she turned and fled into the flames, and away from Ken again.  
  
* * *  
  
Author Babble: Well, thanks for giving the story a chance, and making it this far! All reviews are welcome. Right now, we have a "Gluhen" sequel in the works that has turned out to be a lot more light-hearted than this one. So depending on the feedback we get, that one might take less than 4 years to complete! ^_~ Oh, and the idea to name our chapters after Weiß song titles was one we thought of long before the "Gluhen" series came out and did the same thing. I guess great minds just think alike! ^_~ 


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